Shooting Star
by Angael
Summary: Malik Ishtar; a boy of beauty and hope, gets spotted by a top modeling agency. Pulled into a world of business and showing skin, he rises to the top, meeting the three most famous celebs/models while doing so; Marik, Ryou... and Bakura. YAOI
1. Prologue

**Angael here x3 Thanks for all the support with my stories****.**** I decided to start revising Shooting Star, since it's my biggest project****.**** Thanks everything so much! **

**Anywho ! **

**Summary: Malik Ishtar; a boy of beauty and hope, gets spotted by a top of the knotch modeling agency****.**** Pulled into a world of business and showing skin, he rises to the top, meeting the three most famous models in the country while doing so; Ryou, Marik and****...**** Bakura****.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot! XD I really hope there isn't any stories out there like this one yet o****.****o**

**Couples: Bakura Touzokuou x Malik Ishtar, and Marik Ishtar x Ryou Touzokuou (that's Ryou's last name in this fanfiction x3)****.**** I will add couples if that would please my lovelii reviewers ^^;;**

**Warnings: In future chapters there will be boy x boy so if you do not support homosexuality, then I advise you to leave now****.**** Although it is your own choice, I cannot help but feel bad for someone that would be so convinced that something like love could be insulting or unnatural, no matter the gender****.**

**Rating: T, for swearing and future man on man –wink wink nudge nudge– **

**Yami Marik goes as 'Marik' in this fanfiction, and Hikari Marik goes simply as 'Malik'**

**This is an AU, having no relation to the show whatsoever except for characters**

**My masters, I present to you 'Shooting Star'**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

"_Malik, there's a meteor shower, make a wish."_

"_I wish..."_

"_No, Malik. Think it; close your eyes and hope, and wish and believe that your wish will come true."_

"_Alright big sister!" the young boy closed his eyes tightly, fisting a hand and placing it over his heart._

'_I want to be up there with you one day. I want to be a star, and make Ishizu happy, because she loves the stars. So please? I wish with all my heart, miss star. Let me be a star one day, too.'_

Two purples gems glowed huge, taking in the amazing surrounding. Then they blinked – so that would mean they weren't gems, no, they were indeed a pair of eyes. A pair of eyes belonging to none other than a boy. A boy named Malik Ishtar, to be exact.

Malik looked around the absolutely huge building with an expression of complete and utter awe. To think they were just in the lobby! Eager hands were raised above his eyes, as if he wanted to touch the glass windows that gave off a beautiful view of the sky, so far above. A couple of passerby's stared, and Malik blinked with confusion when seeing them (for he was definitely not used to being looked, and much less stared at), before remembering what he was wearing. Well, _he'd_ certainly stared in the mirror. He was dressed completely like a super model after all!

Well, he wasn't just dressed like one, technically that was what he was now, and it would certainly take some time getting used to. Furrowing his eyebrows he looked around, completely lost in the fact that everyone around him looked rich. Excitement bubbled in his stomach and he ran over to where his employer was registering them in at the counter of their hotel. He smiled at the receptionist, whom in turn blushed and gave a small nod before going on with her work at finding them a room. The woman didn't even look up when a loud and obnoxious voice could be heard to their right.

"Keith! I've been looking everyone for you, you lazy ass!"

"B-bakura, you really shouldn't talk that way to him, it's not very poli-"

"Oh shut it Ryou, he's an asshole and you know it."

Malik turned around, blinking his wide amethyst eyes at two identical people, before jumping back, surprised. He'd only seen a few twins in his life, but these two...! Although they were obviously fraternal, they were like _ghosts_! He shivered at the thought, looking uncertainly between his employer, also known as 'Bandit Keith', that being for his innate ability to trick people into deals, and the two new arrivals. The American was smirking, now turned around from the receptionist with his hands on his hips.

"Bakura, Ryou! So nice to see you. Actually, I've wanted to introduce you to someone." Keith said easily, and Malik's eyes widened in recognition.

This was **the** Bakura and Ryou Touzokuou! The famous twins! The ones that girls fawned over all throughout the country! Back in high school, they were famous. No, more than that – legendary! He was pretty sure there were fan clubs formed in these two's honor. With disbelief he looked back and forth, heart beating faster and faster still with excitement because he had the chance to witness a conversation occur between such famous models and actors. Curiously he wondered who his employer was introducing some of the two most famous celebrities in the country to, and he smiled as he watched.

Neither of the twins had noticed him, but he didn't mind. After all, he had only just gotten into the business! He would become begin in due time, or at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

The one he took to be Bakura growled. "Who is it? We don't have all day you know, Kaiba is already mad that you arrived a day late as it is. And who the hell is this new recruit that I'm hearing about?" The angrier twin snarled cruelly, not trying to hide the fact he was upset about _something_, and Malik wondered if the famous 'Bakura' was always like that. Maybe this was how all celebrities acted? Hmm, there must be an entirely new form of etiquette among stars! Although Ryou appeared quite nice, not that Malik had heard him speak much.

"What 'Kura means to say is, we've heard a lot about a new model that you just recently recruited. Where is he, Keith? I want to meet him!" Stated Ryou enthusiastically, and Malik's smile widened, thinking that whoever this new recruit was, he was certainly quite lucky. He must be something really special!

"Well actually..." Keith started off, and Malik wondered why it appeared the American was looking at him. His head fell to the side in a clueless manner, encouraging his employer to go on. "He's right here."

Both the twins looked directly at him, but Malik missed these stares for he was looking around the reception desk, appearing quite confused as he tried to track down the lucky model, before looking back at Keith. "I'm confused Mr. Keith, who is this new model that you are talking about? I thought I was the only..." Malik trailed off, eyes wide. Keith simply smirked, and vaguely he wondered how he'd gotten into all this.

Oh yes, it had been a few days ago.

**Three Days Earlier:**

_Keith Howard was not a stupid man__.__ He was a very temperamental and rude man; yes, but he was definitely, without a doubt, not a stupid man__.__ His brilliance didn't come from the fact that he had quite the knack in lying anyplace, anywhere__.__ Nor did it come from the way his determination and stubbornness came close to outshining even the most stubborn ass__.__ No, it came down to the pure eye, something all humans had__.__ But you see, Keith had an eye for just a certain thing__._

_And that was money__._

_As he stared hungrily at the boy who was standing soaking wet by a bus stop from across the street, he felt himself realize quite proudly, that he'd just hit the jack pot before any of his competitors had__. __He had drawn his lottery ticket, and no way did he plan on letting go__.__ For this small teenager wasn't normal, no you could tell just by looking at the tan boy that if you were to gather 100 people and group them all up, that he would be the one to catch your eye__.__ Beauty seemed to almost radiate off the feminine teen, a beauty that Keith hadn't seen for years__.__ It was obvious by the regular jeans and t-shirt that this boy was not rich, and this too brought Keith pleasure__because that meant this teen would be more likely to accept Keith's offer__._

_A grin started to spread across his face, as he realized one thing, with an absolute certainty that's quite hard to argue with:_

_He'd finally gotten his big break__._

_Malik scowled, trying to dodge rain pellets that seemed absolutely 100% keen on drowning him as he quickly as possible made his way towards the bus stop__.__ After a few narrow avoidances of passerby's and a close call of a lethal slip, he finally made it, but was dismayed to see that the small cover of rain was already full, meaning he had to stand outside and just hope to god he wouldn't freeze until his bus came__._

_Teeth chattering, the Egyptian boy brought his small hands up to rub furiously at his goose-bump splattered arms, trying to bring some warmth into them to no avail__.__ The morning had been absolutely beautiful, and Malik, being the optimist that he was, had longingly hoped that maybe, __**just maybe**__ it would stay that way__.__ Well actually, no hoping had been involved; he had simply ran out of the house without a stray thought about the weather, in nothing but his usual slightly ripped up shirt and baggy jeans__. __(Ugh__.__ Now wasn't that just like him?) Even if he did have a jacket on him, they were all pretty thin__.__ His family couldn't afford much at the moment, so they were trying to keep things cheap__._

_His weight transferred from foot to foot as he stared down at the ground, feeling like a soaked cat, and not a cute one either__.__ With a sigh his lips parted and he brought his hands up, breathing warm air into them before looking around, and feeling off__.__ It was as if someone was watching him, although there were so many people bustling around it was quite impossible to tell__.__ Knocking it off as himself just being paranoid, the shivering teenager glanced back at the very warm looking shop just behind him that sold coffee and chocolates, then back at his bus stop__._

_His ride wouldn't be around for another ten minutes, considering he'd sprinted from him school to here planning on avoiding rain (which had turned out to be a lost cause), so there really was no point in staying__... __but what if he missed his bus? Even so, Malik really didn't want to catch hypothermia, and with one more glance back at the heat-radiating store his mind was quickly made up and before he knew it, the sun-kissed boy was sprinting to the store__.__ He nearly fell inside, relief coming over the Egyptian as warmth seemed to flow over his skin, and with quick steps he walked away from the cold door, glancing around__.__ One of the barista's was giving him a nasty glare; probably for coming in as a wet mutt, but he very clearly ignored the look__.__ He looked down, shuffling his feet and seeing that he had indeed made quite a big mess, there was water everywhere__.__ Guiltily he took out his wallet, walking over to the line and grimacing, for even the measly prices here made him look poor__.__ Firmly his hands searched through his wallet, glaring at anything that wasn't money__.__ He only had a few dollars; most of his money was at home with his elder brother and sister__.__ Glancing up at the menu every now and then he tried to figure out if there was anything he could buy, and before he knew it he was at the front, still having not decided on a cheap snack to buy__._

"_What may I get you?" Said a masculine voice that came from a teenager that looked slightly older than himself; it was the barista that had been glaring at him hatefully before__.__ Malik gulped, frantically searching his pockets__._

"_E-err one sec! Let me just find some cash__...__" He mumbled, pulling his hands out of his pockets and staring down with a rather embarrassed look on his face when he realized his hands had come up empty__._

"_Sir, if you have no money I'll have to ask you to get out of line__.__ There are other customers here__.__" The other male said smugly, and Malik made a face, once again searching his pockets but letting out a sigh of apology then turning to leave, except a voice interrupted him__._

"_Hey, kid__.__ Don't worry about it! It's on me__.__" Malik looked up in surprise, turning to find a man with blond hair that wore sunglasses (which were rather odd, in this weather) and apparently had a kink for the United States and showed it with pride for there was a bandana around his forehead with the American flag upon it__.__ He blinked owlishly, before nodding, because Malik always had been naïve and trusting__.__ Surprise welled up in him at being helped by a stranger, and he immediately decided that this man must be very nice and proceeded to give the man his best smile, to which the older blond simply smirked__._

_The barista glared back and forth between both of them, before gritting his teeth and asking the customary question again__.__ "What may I get you?" _

_He was slightly put off, staring forward at the worker, unused to being disliked by someone so quickly, so he simply mumbled some sort of pastry (a muffin he believed) before grinning cockily and waiting to get his food__.__ The man that was buying him this treat stood to his left, and turned around while the worker was off__._

"_I am Howard Keith, you are?" Said the kind man, holding out his hand officially__.__ The blond blinked again, smiling up at the older man before reaching out and shaking his hand enthusiastically, trying to look calm and uncaring but more or less coming off as an uncertain, however still ecstatic, child__.__ Unbeknown to Malik, this greatly pleased Keith__._

"_I'm Malik Ishtar! Nice to meet you Keith, and thank you so much for the muffin! I'm not really carrying much money on me, eheheh__.__" The Egyptian said quickly, and then heard a small cough behind him__.__ Realizing that his very long awaited (a mere 30 seconds, to be exact) muffin had finally arrived; he jumped over, taking it happily and proceeding to very maturely stick his tongue out at the male, who did nothing but remain cold and unresponsive__.__**It looks quite delicious **__Malik thought appreciatively, and had the sudden urge to eat it right away for he'd skipped lunch but resisted, waiting for Keith to pay__._

_And the older man did come forward to pay, and he could only stare in amazement as the American opened a wallet that seemed to hold all the money in the world (or it might as well be, to Malik anyway)__.__ The Egyptian missed the looked of power that flashed in his new acquaintances eyes, much too distracted by the truck load of cash that he'd just seen__.__ And just as quick as it had appeared, it was gone, back in the others pocket__.__ The teenager behind the cash register was staring as well, probably just as shocked as Malik__.__ After all, there must have been 100s of pounds/dollars in there! _

_**Ahh**__**...**__** It would be nice to have that kind of money**__**.**_

_He thought sourly, watching as the man paid before skipping over to a table, happily tearing off the plastic wrapper that was around the muffin and proceeding to take small, but quick bites from the muffin__.__ He wanted it to last for later but he was starved, and just now did he realize how much! After all, he was a growing boy, he needed food__.__ He was so entranced by his food, he only looked up with curious eyes when he heard the American chuckling, and he realized he must appear insane; sopping wet, hyper, and staring at a muffin like it was gold__.__ Well, screw him! Malik's face turned a nice shade of pink and he glared down at the muffin, now embarrassed__._

"_You look like you haven't eaten in ages, kid__.__" Keith commented, still chuckling and watching the smaller male eat__._

_Malik smiled bashfully, "W-well, only since breakfast__...__ but I have quite an appetite haha!" And with that his eyes were once again concentrated on the muffin that was causing him to use all his self restraint and not swallow whole__._

"_I can see that, Malik__.__" Was the amused and joking reply__.__ Malik smiled while eating, finally throwing away self preserve and eating freely, glancing up, hoping dearly he wasn't disgusting the person treating him to food__.__ It was then that he noticed that this person, 'Keith', had very__...__ dark sunglass on__.__ He didn't know what it was, but something about them just set him off, put him on edge, making him much more self conscious than usual__.__ Especially with the man looking in his direction__.__ It made him feel like the other could be looking anywhere and Malik wouldn't have the slightest idea__.__ This was exactly what made him aware that something unusual was happening; he was being treated by someone that didn't really seem like the 'kindhearted and giving' type__._

_Swallowing thickly he put his muffin down on the table, smile still present however now looking slightly nervous as he glanced around, assuring him that there were plenty of other guests in the shop__.__ His appetite had dropped a bit and meekly he brought a finger up to twirl in his hair as a distraction__.__ "Umm__...__ Mr__.__ Keith," he started uneasily, and the man gave him a nod as a signal to go on__.__ "You are extremely nice to get me this, but would you mind if I asked why you did so?" There, now it was out! Nothing to worry about__.__ Although, his smile did not drop its slightly timid looking appearance__.__ Normally Malik wasn't so shy and quiet of course; rain just tended to put an extremely heavy damper on his mood__.__ And adults; they always made him feel awkward__.__ Having both was like__...__ Going to the opposite of Disney Land (ignore the fact that he'd never actually been to Disney Land)__._

_The elder blond barked out a laugh, confident smirk never falling, his eyes hidden by sunglasses__.__ "Actually Malik, I was really hoping you'd ask that!"_

_He blinked, extremely confused before letting his hands fold in his lap and his head fall to the side, eyebrows furrowing__.__ "You were?" He asked suspiciously, and the other man nodded vigorously, for a reason that Malik would soon know looking excited, but for now it just befuddled him even more__._

"_I was! For you see Malik__...__" The man paused, appearing as if he didn't know how to word something__.__ "I have__...__ a slight 'proposition' for you__.__" The American said carefully, and Malik's eyes widened slightly, curiosity peaking even if he still felt extremely nervous__._

_Licking his lips, he asked the obvious question__.__ "W-what type of proposition?" Curse those damn stutters!_

_Thoughts came to mind; well-dressed, rich, and treating a young boy__.__ This guy was a smooth talker, so can you honestly blame him for thinking that just _maybe_ the man had less than legal plans for him? _

_Silence set on the table heavily for a few long seconds, before Keith finally spoke and Malik had to resist closing his eyes, afraid that something evil would come out of the other's mouth, like a giant spider or something similar__.__ "Well, it's come to my notice that you my dear friend, are going to become a Star__.__" _

_Malik blinked in utmost surprise__._

_Well THAT definitely wasn't what he'd been expecting__._

And that's how, my dear friends, Malik Ishtar first met fame.

**END CHAPTER x**

"_The sky is black__._

_I swear you fell from it__._

_You let ripples from the water_

_speak for you__._

_Spiders make webs_

_on your eyelashes__._

_They block your view__._

_And, still, you wait_

_for diamonds to crumble_

_and fall into our tears__._

_And I will be here_

_until you make a wish__._

_My hands are shaking__._

_I swear you caused an earthquake__._

_We are the actors__._

_The moon is our spotlight__._

_The midnight curtain opens_

_for the first act to begin__._

_You have stage fright__._

_And, still, you wait_

_for the sky to cry_

_falling, sparkling tears__._

_And I will be here_

_until you make a wish__._

_Your cheeks are wet__._

_I swear you'll never show it__._

_Tree branches wave goodbye_

_and take a bow__._

_A warm wind_

_comforts me__._

_You don't know how__._

_And, still, you wait_

_for the stars to let go_

_and fall into your tears__._

_And I will be here_

_until you make a wish__._

_The water's burning__._

_I swear you feel a chill__._

_Fierce stars aim_

_and shoot at me__._

_The chains_

_around my neck_

_break free__._

_And, still, you wait_

_for the last shot_

_to pierce your tears__._

_And I won't be here__._

_I've made my wish__.__" _

_Lauren Russell_

**Hey everyone ! 8D Hope you enjoyed the first chapter~~~ It's very very short because this is simply the prologue, but I swear the chapters will get much much longer! Tell me what you think by clicking the lovely review button of doom :D**

**Au revoir ****.**** 3 **

**Word Count: 3****.****211**

**Date Completed: 1/9/10**

**Revised: 1/13/11**

**Revised Word Count: 3****.****593**


	2. The Devil Himself

**Angael's back x] with an update! 3**

**Oh, by the way****...**** In this ****Kaiba Corporation**** is more like****...**** a modeling agency that's connected with movies, fashion, magazines and such xD Yush****...**** I gay-a-fied it!**

**A lot of you wonderful lovely absolutely fantastic reviewers tell me that this fanfiction is a lot like ****'Mayonake Junketsu' and I laughed when I read that! All of you are so kind and no one accused me of copying (which I didn't, you'll see why it's funny though) but the thing is I have read that doujinshi and it's one of my favorites! I hadn't even thought of these two ideas being similar o****.****o I'm such a freak ! XD Anywho****...**** I swear the plot-lines shall be completely different, for Malik is not working at a sex agency, he's actually being paid to model x/  
****...**** model what, is the question? ****___**

**If you guys are interested in doujinshis, you can message me if you want [: I know a website with almost every known YuGiOh Doujin, but I can't post it here so please; message me if you would like it! ^^**

**Another thing: I do not dislike Bandit Keith, therefore I thought 'why not include him?' x] I guess I've developed some sort of love for the character by watching the abridged! Plus, in the anime he had a grudge against ****PEGASUS****! That guy scares the shit out of my! Honestly, have you noticed all the creepy lines he's had? For example;**

**Croquette: Mr****.**** Pegusus, the boy has escaped!**

**Pegasus: Which one? (NOT IN THE ABRIDGED)  
Or  
Pegusus: So tense Kaiba! You look like you need a hug~ (NOT IN THE ABRIDGED)**

**xD See? He makes me shit myself****.****  
Did I digress? Why are you still reading this?  
Insane people XD**

**LAST THING: Did anyone read the poem at the end of the last chapter? It's called 'shooting star' and I'm not sure if I should get a new poem for the end of every chapter, or stick with the other one****.**** This chapter has a new one ;;^^**

**Beta: Loss****.****oF****.****SaNiiTee**

Two sets of brown eyes stared at him.

And Malik stared right back, with his wide, purple amethyst eyes. Feeling like he might explode from awkwardness, he did the only thing he could really do at a tense moment such as this:

He closed his eyes and smiled; laughing just because.

When he opened his eyes, they were still staring, but now Ryou was smiling widely at him, and Malik knew at that moment that he and the white haired seemingly kind twin would be quite good friends. He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, about to open his mouth to introduce himself when Bakura laughed, like Malik. Except it was different; the crude twin was actually laughing at him, as far as he could tell. Not a kind introductory laugh; no, a rude, full out cackle! Anger flashed in Malik's eyes, and before he could remember to 'think before speaking' he had opened his mouth. "What are you laughing at?!" the Egyptian asked, looking offended.

Apparently his question had no effect though, for the white haired man kept on laughing, until finally after a few moments they died down to chuckles, and he stared at Malik with an amused smile on his lips and mirth in his eyes. "Okay Keith, how much is this kid paying you? Him? Become big? That's just foolish." The albino snorted at the idea, although his gaze never left Malik.

Not feeling intimidated in the slightest, Malik met the look with a glare, eyes narrowing slightly in anger. "Kid!? I'm probably only a few years younger than you!" he stated angrily, arms crossing in a stand-off manner. How dare this, this celebrity insult him! Sure, he was new... and short, and slightly feminine, but a kid? He was 15! Fifteen full years! His retort only seemed to amuse the celebrity more though, and Ryou looked a little bemused, glancing in between them.

"A few years? Pfft, more like ten, kiddo." Malik's face reddened in anger and he felt hostility grow in his chest. He hadn't hit anyone since middle school, and even back then it wasn't him that ever started the fights. The teen was not violent in the slightest, so why was it that right now he wanted to do nothing more than tackle this 'Bakura' in a fit of rage? Calm Malik, calm. He's just trying to rile you up, his more logical side thought, and he felt his fists clench and unclench.

Puffing his chest out indignantly he tried to make himself look taller, for he was actually starting to feel short around these people. Even Ryou was about an inch taller than him, while Bakura and Keith seemed to be separated by miles. This did not do good things for his pride, but he held strong. "Wanna bet, fluffy?!" he ground out angrily, and Keith's smirk turned into a look of surprise, before he started gawking. Ryou's eyes were the size of dinner plates, and he was trying to signal Malik to run away quickly. Of course, he noticed neither of these things, for his eyes was full of determination, focused on Bakura and Bakura only. The other had immediately started glaring after hearing the nick-name, and currently they were having somewhat of a staring contest. The sad thing was he had the feeling he was losing.

When his eyes felt like they'd fall out of his head from burning, he could take no more and blinked, but when he opened his eyes his glare was even deadlier, showing that he obviously disliked losing quite a bit. The albino smirked down at him, looking completely victorious, and he walked forward with a sneer. "I don't know why the hell Keith would choose you of all people to scout for, but I'm telling you right now that with a height like that, your hopes of being a model are a million to -"

Malik felt anger bubble up in him quickly and he hissed in fury. "I am not short!" He cried resentfully, by now taking a step forward, hoping to make the other feel intimidated. Unfortunately this had the opposite effect, because it appeared that the albino was actually really tall up close, making it so Malik only reached up to his chest. This made his face go red in embarrassment but he gazed up hatefully all the same, not losing his resolve one bit.

Bakura seemed to be slightly surprised that Malik was more insulted about height and age than he was about his career, but he leaned down so there was only a heads height separating them (HA! SHORTIE) and smirked his fullest and over-confident, conceited grin yet. "How old are you anyways, kiddo? If you're over 17 I'll stop calling you that."

His eyes widened but his lips were pressed into a firm line. He almost considered lying and claiming to be 18, but then recalled that Keith was standing a mere few feet away, and somehow he doubted that the American would back him up on the lie. So very smartly he kept his mouth shut, unable to do anything but stand there, hoping that the other would back down.

Instead, the albino chuckled. "I thought so. Sixteen, right?" Once again no reply, and when that happened Bakura actually laughed, leaning back cheerfully. "Shit! You're actually a kid! Please tell me you're 15 and not younger!"

"It's not funny, you over-grown hairball! Of course I'm 15; it's not my fault you were born first!" By this time the Egyptian was whining, slightly insecure when he realized that the male before him couldn't possibly be a teenager, which meant that Malik was supposed to listen to him.

Bakura just listened in amusement, before flicking Malik's forehead harshly. "Don't talk back to your elders, boy. I'm a good 6 years ahead of you." The Egyptian took a step back, rubbing his abused forehead and frowning, before his eyes widened and a horrified look crossed his face. 6 YEARS!? This guy was 21! The age he'd always wanted to be! Grrr, this wasn't fair.

A look of rebellion passed over his face, but was quickly shoved aside. Instead, a steady, polite and absolutely scary smile took over his face instead. "Yes, whatever you say..." Under his breath he muttered 'old man.'

The celebrity in front of him simply rolled his eyes, appearing not to be bothered (much to Malik's disappointment) and motioned to Bandit Keith. "Kaiba expects you and the loser up in his room right away," Bakura stated, now refusing to look at him, instead boredly addressing Keith. The blond older man nodded.

"What number?" the American asked officially, and Malik had to keep his anger in, instead turning his gaze towards the other twin: Ryou.

The kind ghost (as Malik had taken to mentally calling him) smiled brightly, bowing as if in respect. This made him grin as well, and amused him to no end considering he was the one that should be honored. Girls AND boys everywhere talked about these two! Happily, Malik held out his hand, for now ignoring the conversation going on behind him between his employer and current rival. "I'm Malik Ishtar!" the Egyptian said excitedly, and Ryou politely reached out, taking his hand.

"Ryou Touzokuou, I'm so glad you're part of our company! Most of the celebrities were already famous before me and my brother, so they tend to treat us like kids, but now you're the kid!" the man joked, and Malik chuckled, for he knew there was no true ill intention behind the words. The other was much too nice to say something like that!

They both dropped their hands to their sides (well, Malik did, while Ryou folded them behind his back). "I am too! Although I don't really know much about models, I never really bought many magazines..." he said shyly, glancing around out of embarrassment because the exact reason was that he'd never been able to afford them.

The white haired man simply laughed, quite the angelic sound (unlike Bakura's) and his smile didn't leave the ghost's face. "It's quite fun, actually! For modeling you just take pictures most of the time; and that can be torturous if they insist that you take a million shots, but after a month or so you start to get invited to parties. In fact, this Saturday there's a huge party going on." Ryou said happily. Malik nodded, following along with what the other was saying before noticing something.

"Are you British!?" he asked in awe, eyes wide with excitement. An English ghost? That was so cool, as silly as it might sound! Although he'd definitely deny it if questioned about it, Malik always had found that British accents were extremely appealing. Girls just sounded so cute with them! The celebrity blinked before laughing, nodding his head patiently. Malik grabbed the man's hands, trying to hold in his excitement, before turning, looking around the room enthusiastically. "Say something, say something!" He looked back over at the slightly bewildered white haired man.

"E-err... something?" asked Ryou uncertainly, causing the Egyptian to laugh.

"No! I mean something that proves your British! Like..." The tanned boy screwed his eyes up in thought, before sighing dramatically, apparently giving up. "Oh, whatever!" He smiled. "How did you end up with a Japanese name anyway, Ryou?" Malik asked, curious and wide eyed.

The British man blinked, "Oh... my father was Japanese but my mother English. My brother and I were raised in England." Malik nodded in understanding, by now listening quite intently, trying to pick up any sort of accent he could. His smile would grow wider whenever he succeeded, making him look like quite the smiling buffoon (not to say it wasn't an attractive one).

Feeling it only polite to admit himself where he was from, he did just that. "My family's from Egypt , we moved here about a year ago!" he stated, and this time Ryou looked quite impressed. The ghost opened his mouth to comment, but another (much more rude) voice beat him to it.

"Hey, new guy! Keith has been waiting by the elevator for an hour now, and I don't appreciate you spreading your filth onto my brother. Mind leaving?" sneered Bakura, and the tanned teen had to resist quickly turning around and attacking the celebrity, for he doubted that would be a great way to start out his career. Well, then again, he could just see the headlines now! 'Innocent Celebrity Attacked by Mad Egyptian' pfft, yeah, that was certainly a quick way to fame.

Instead, Malik slowly turned around, eyes turning a cold shade of dark purple as his lips pressed together in a thin line. After taking a few quick breaths he spoke once again. "I'd love to, although I'm slightly worried about your sense of time. Is old age getting to you already?" A look of absolute fury spread across the angry twin's face, and Malik let himself take on a smirk of victory before turning back around and bowing respectfully to Ryou, sending a glare in Bakura's direction, and then running as quickly as he could across the lobby to where his amused employer stood.

"Heh, got to give you credit, kid. Never seen anyone rile Bakura up quite like you do. Most people just whimper in fear when he glares at them." the American said, obviously beyond amused as he pressed the elevator button, and Malik gave a cheeky grin.

It was something to be proud of after all! That guy was like the definition of 'asshole.'

... Well, obviously not the real definition, the real thing was something that everyone had, clearly. Which had always confused Malik, because why the hell would you call someone something that you yourself had? Wasn't that like... almost insulting yourself? He often asked himself such odd things, which made him zone out quite a bit. "Hey, kid, what are you standing there for? Get in!" Kind of like he was doing now.

In an embarrassed fashion he got in the elevator, leaning against the back wall. "So what are we doing, Mr. Keith?" the Egyptian asked inquisitively, having forgotten today's schedule already. The American took his glasses off and began to polish them, and Malik waited patiently for the glasses to be put back on (because the elder blond simply refused to talk without them, probably because they tended to intimidate people) and for the answer to his question.

Finally the dark sunglasses were placed back in their rightful place and Keith nodded in approval, before frowning. "Everyone calls me Keith, kid. The pleasantries might as well be dropped." The tanned teen blinked before nodding, then remembered the age comments Bakura had made.  
"H-hey, I'm not a kid!" he whined, suddenly feeling annoyed. The blond in front of him simply smirked.

"I'm your employer; I call you whatever I want!" The voice was joking though, so Malik simply scowled and paid it no mind. "Anyways, we're meeting Seto Kaiba." In some far off place (in his imagination), he imagined that if he had been drinking he would have spit out and choked on the contents upon hearing that. Considering that at the moment he wasn't drinking, he instead took a different course of action. Immediately, the Egyptian was wide awake (for a few seconds earlier his eyelids had been drooping; they had woken up at 6:00am that morning after all!) and was gawking at Keith. Had he just heard right? Had the person in front of him said they were meeting with Seto Kaiba?! The Seto Kaiba!? He could only meet with so many famous people in one day before having a stroke!

"SETO KAIBA!" he all but yelled, excitement taking over his entire form as he jumped into the air, arms now in front of him as if an excited puppy. Keith looked taken aback, in fact the man appeared to almost look slightly disturbed, as if the sight of a teenager who jumped 3 feet in the air and looked like he would kill for what he was about to see was scary. Huh, well actually, it was.

"What about it, kid?"

"THE Seto Kaiba! The rich, egotistic, billionaire one!? You mean the one who's in charge of Kaiba Corp?" Malik was breathless, eyes wide as if he really was a kid again. The American slowly nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Calm down, he won't glance twice at you if you're acting like this." Keith growled out, and the words worked like a charm, for very quickly the boy was standing straight with a polite smile and firm eyes (that you could still see dancing with excitement) set on the door expectantly, waiting for the elevator to arrive. And as if on queue, the elevator doors opened, and the American watched as the teen tried (and failed) to coolly walk out.

Purple eyes glanced around the hall, taking a moment to take in the majestic and rich air to the place. The only hotels he'd ever been to were with his family, pretty poorly run and cheap, so this was like cloud nine. With a quick breath he started walking in the direction he'd automatically assumed to be the right direction, before an amused voice sounded from behind him.

"Ishtar, his room's this way!" Keith said, already walking in the opposite direction. Quick as a flash Malik had turned around and was all but running after his employer, lips sealed shut tightly, almost afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd explode (and Kaiba would no doubt hear that!).

They walked along a fairly large hallway, and he was surprised to see that there were only doors every twenty feet or so on either side. This peeked Malik's interest, and (naturally being curious) he asked Keith about it.

"You've never even seen a suite before?" was his employer's surprised reply, and to that a wide eyed Egyptian nodded. Keith shook his head. "Not even on TV? You really need to get out more." Malik's cheeks tinted ever so slightly, and he opened his mouth to reply to that rude comment, but before he could, the other man went on. "Well, you pay a little extra cash," he noted how the American's face actually lit up when saying the word, "and they get you some space that's huge– for a hotel that is - and has a lot more to it than any regular room." He smiled in understanding, and then noticed something:

They had stopped.

With eager eyes he watched as Keith raised a formal hand and knocked loudly, but not rudely, on the door. Malik perked his ears, trying to listen for any sound that could be heard, but found it was utterly quiet all throughout the hall, and nothing could be heard from inside. He glanced between Keith and the door, wondering if something was wrong. Curious if Keith was going to do anything, Malik got ready to question him about it, but it turned out to be unnecessary. "Kaiba, get your ass over here and open the door, it's Keith!" It sometimes amazed the Egyptian how Keith could say the rudest things possible but still sound formal and polite.

Silence. Then...

"Whatever." And a few seconds after that, he heard a lock being undone and the door being slowly pulled open. Malik had to physically stop himself from charging into the room and knocking the billionaire over (for that would be quite rude, and his sister had always taught him that being rude was a bad thing), but once he laid his eyes on Kaiba, he almost wish he had. Because really, if you had laid eyes on the devil you would too! A cold, stony face was before him. Very handsome and lethal, like those people in the James Bond movies, except... the man in front of him looked much more like a villain than a hero. What amazed Malik the most, though, was that Kaiba actually appeared to be... his age? Well, no... Probably in his early 20s, but the Egyptian hadn't been expecting someone so young! His huge purple eyes stared at the millionaire (although he still believed the other to be a billionaire) and he was faintly aware that cold blue eyes were staring back, before moving on to look him up and down.  
Knowing that Kaiba could possibly be interested in hiring him as a model, he tried to stand straight and not fidget, but before he knew it a pink tint (that he'd tried very hard to fight off) had crossed his cheeks. Unbeknownst to him, this made him look even more appealing, so it did not displease the person in front of him, or his employer. After a minute or so, the brunet gave a firm nod of approval before turning and walking back into the suite, gesturing with a hand for Malik and Keith to follow close behind.

Upon entering the room, the boy had to stifle a gasp. This... this was a hotel!? It seemed to be the size of an entire house! In fact, this was much **MUCH **bigger than his house! Sure, he had an abnormally small house, but this was just ridiculously huge. His eyes wandered around the room, trying to take it all in. The floors were made of wood, a fine and deep mahogany color, and upon seeing this he took off his shoes immediately, not wanting to dirty the beautiful floor. The walls were pure white, but if you looked up, a border could be seen all around the room that connected the ceiling to the walls and then the walls to the floor. The room appeared to have a white and blue color scheme, and Malik felt cold looking around the room. It was almost like this very place had been designed for the billionaire alone! Well, the man had so much money, it's not like he'd be surprised. Exactly three minutes later he realized that two very amused rich bastards were staring at him, and a squeak left his mouth in surprise. "W-what?" he asked nervously, eyes shifting from one person the next. Kaiba grunted and turned away, while Keith chuckled. Malik's eyes narrowed, for neither of the sounds were very good answers, but he let it be. By now, the American had seated himself on a couch, while the president of Kaiba Corp had placed himself rather officially at a desk, an open laptop in front of him.

Awkwardly he stood in the middle of the room, not quite sure if he was allowed to sit down or not. "Err... so... Kaiba, eh?" he said stupidly, feeling himself start to sweat with nervousness. God! That had been such a stupid thing to say! He licked his lips uncertainly, before stumbling forward and holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, I am-"

"Malik Ishtar, I know who you are." The businessman in front of him stated coolly, and Malik started gnawing on his lip in nervousness, subconsciously making it a pinker color than it already was. "Seat yourself next to your employer; you look like an idiot standing there." The Egyptian quickly nodded, resisting the temptation to retort something rude back and instead busying himself with trying to not trip over his own feet as he made his way towards the couch; after all, he had always been somewhat of a klutz.

"So what do you think?" Keith asked gruffly, appearing slightly smug. The brunet seemed to mull it over, all the while staring at Mailk, causing the Egyptian to fidget once again.

After a moment or so, the businessman replied. "I agree with what you said over the phone. He could definitely rise to the top, maybe even within this year." Keith seemed very pleased by these words, and the Egyptian looked in between them both curiously, then something occurred to him.

"But M-mr. Kaiba... the year is almost over, it's already November," Malik mumbled quietly, still slightly afraid of the cold person in front of him.

Said person stared at him for a second (more like glared, but oh well), then snorted, as if Malik was an idiot. "Then we'll just have to work fast, won't we?" Kaiba said calmly, and Malik mumbled in agreement, uncertainly. The businessman then turned to Keith. "From tomorrow onwards he'll start working, I'll send you his schedule later tonight. We'll be focusing on magazines mostly; if he can act we might try to get a commercial. Also, I want him at Ms. Valentine's party this weekend; have one of the twins take him as a guest." Keith gave the 'Ok!' while Malik blinked, then smiled widely.

"Can I go with Ryou?!" he asked, sounding quite excited. Now that he thought about it, hadn't the twin mentioned something about a party just recently when they met? It must be pretty big. Kaiba blinked, about to give approval, before Malik started ranting. "I mean I really don't have a problem going with anyone, but you said 'the twins' so I'm guessing you meant Ryou and Bakura! And Bakura really is an asshole so I think I'd prefer to go with Ryou, he seems much nicer. Is that alright Kaiba?" the teen asked, excitement laced into his voice. Kaiba was looking past Malik, and it was then that someone coughed behind the Egyptian and Keith. Immediately he turned around, and behold, the twins that they'd been talking about. Even though he really should have been embarrassed for being caught badmouthing Bakura to his boss, this feeling passed him by completely, instead replaced by the pleasure of seeing Ryou.

Immediately Malik stood up in an animated fashion, clapping and lacing his hands together. "Ryou! We were just talking about you! Guess what, I'm going to the party on Saturday! Can I go as your guest? Kaiba said it was okay, right Kaiba?" The boy turned around, suddenly nervous upon realizing that technically the CEO had never really agreed to do anything. Once again however, the brunet had opened his mouth as if ready to give approval, but someone interrupted him.

Bakura snorted. "As if I'd let this filthy peasant go with my brother!"

Malik whipped around, eyes burning with fire. "Peasant? Really old man, what time period are you in?"

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" the twin snarled.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" That was Malik.

"Sure it does, your stupidity just can't comprehend it." And THAT was Bakura.

"Or maybe your words are out of date? I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'm twenty-fucking-one! That's not old!"

"Then why can I already see a grey hair?"

"MY HAIR IS WHITE!"

"You bet it is, fluffy."

"What did you just - "

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" Kaiba hissed, and two pairs of eyes (one purple and one brown/red) turned to glare at the brunet before returning to each other, hatred glistening in their depths, but not another word was uttered.

Deciding that this was a pointless argument, Malik turned back to Ryou and smiled happily. "So can I go with Ryou?" he asked Kaiba, although he still faced the angelic ghost (because let's face it, no one wants to look directly at cold-hearted people when talking to them).  
"Kaiba," the hated one (a.k.a. Bakura) hissed, "I refuse to let my brother go with him." Somehow, the ghost managed to make 'him' sound like an insult. What the hell?

Kaiba appeared quite annoyed, and Malik could understand why. Honestly, just being in the presence of Bakura was giving him a headache too! "I'm going to regret this..." the CEO said with an irritated voice, and then glared at Bakura and Malik. "If you honestly don't want your brother going with Ishtar, then you take him yourself?" The Egyptian's eyes widened, and he didn't have to be looking at his current rival to know the same thing had happened to him.

There was silence in the room as Malik waited for the outcome he knew would come (that is, Bakura yelling as loudly as possible 'NO WAY IN FUCKING HELL!' and then it'd be done with) but unfortunately, it appeared luck wasn't on his side today. "Fine," was the hissed reply from the ghost, and the boy whipped his head around to stare at the white haired, angry young man.

"What!?" he whined, eyes wide with horror.

Bakura did nothing but glare, and Ryou giggled. Keith was smirking and Kaiba appeared quite pleased with himself. Malik looked around the room in an animated terror, wondering if all of its occupants were out to get him. Even innocent little Ryou!

A cough from the most evil of them all (a brunet with ice cold eyes) brought Malik's attention back to the desk. "Since you two seem to get along so well, I think I'll just assign Ishtar to you, Bakura. Hope you don't mind." They both gawked at their boss. "Don't worry about your schedules, I'll get a chauffeur to drive you both to your different destinations during the day, but you'll be in charge of him, got that?" Malik would not let this stand by!

"B-but... but... KEITH! That's right, Keith is my manager, and shouldn't he be the one taking care of me?" the Egyptian said in a hurried fashion, and it was then that he felt the full force of Seto Kaiba's world renowned death glare. With a squeak and fearful eyes, he mumbled, "F-forget I said anything, Mr. K-Kaiba..."

A smirk spread across the businessman's face. "Good, now get out of my sight, you fools."

They all but ran out of the room.

Once outside, Malik stood there looking rather awkward as he glanced back and forth between the twins and Keith, not quite sure how this was all going to work out. He seemed to be the only confused one though, because the others had already started walking away. In opposite directions (meaning the twins going down the hall one way, and Keith going the other). His panic grew, and it was then that an amused Keith stopped and looked back at him.

"I'll check on you tomorrow, for now go with the twins. Try not to kill Bakura; he is quite the money-maker."

And with a sigh, Malik knew his fate was sealed, and he nervously followed after the twins, whom had stopped as well. He warily greeted a happy smiling Ryou and a smirking Bakura (which the teen didn't understand; really, why was the bastard happy? He had just as much of a reason to be displeased as Malik did).

"I guess you're stuck with me, shortie. Try not to let your short legs make you fall behind."

"I'm not talking to you, fluffy."

_"I love just who you are,  
I ain't gonna' try to change ya__.__  
You are a shooting Star,  
That's why you are my favorite__.__"  
--LMFAO (Song: __Shooting Star__)_

**ROFL****.**** That was beyond fun to write XDDD  
Hahahaha****...****  
Hurhurrhurr ****.****  
Tell me what you all think! I felt like the middle was kind of slow and boring so I tried to add in a little humor to get you guys going, did it work? O****.****O I'm not quite sure if I'm a good comedian, but A for effort, right? 8D  
So anywho****...**** I remember something else I wanted to ask everyone!  
But the intro was so long so I didn't put it there****...****  
Do you want any couples other than thiefshipping and deathshipping? Just curious :P  
Tell me what you think! ^^  
Date Completed: 1/10/10  
Word Count: 5****.****288**


	3. Paparazzi

**Hey everyone ~! xD I died for a few days, gomen ! **

**Anywho, I'm in a talkative mood and I need some help deciding something!**

**This summer I'll be going back to England and taking a course at either Oxford or Cambridge****.**** Which one should I do? If I go to Oxford it shall be: Drama (major) and Studio Art (minor) but if I go to Cambridge it shall be: Drama (major) and Criminology (minor)****.**** What are your opinions? :3**

**ALSO: I am officially CALLING OUT PEOPLE XDDDD Because they didn't review and I didn't get to hear their opinions ****.**** So: ****rohanfox**** , ****Artemisfowlisawsome**** , ****Freai-RBO**** , ****Miss****.**** Mousie**** , and ****LaZano ****! I am sure you all have very very interesting opinions so I insist that you review so I can hear them xDD (plus story-alerts make me cry)**

**The last chapter was called 'The Devil Himself' ****.**** You can interpret this as either 'Kaiba' (that's who it was meant to be) or 'Bakura' (because it fits as well) but either way it's pretty much up to you 8D**

**Oh gosh****...**** I'm excited for this chapter****.**** You guys are gonna love me XD**

**On with Chapter 3 o****.****o**

**Warnings: Cute-ness (sorry harlequin XD) and swearing o.o also... *smirk*MARIK IS HERE BABY! And Ryou's hatin' it XD **** somebody is gonna kill me for making that face so much. **

**Beta: Loss****.****Of****.****SaNiiTee (she is out of town so I had to beta this myself ;~; forgive my mistakes, she's much better than me)**

**Title: Shooting Star**

**Chapter: Masquerade Ball**

**This chapter is dedicated to my best friend '****.SaNiiTee****' and the awesomest thiefshipping fan ever '****harlequin demon****' xD**

**~*~*~*~**

With a huge exhausted sigh he fell backwards onto the queen sized bed, limbs aching and eyes drooping. "God Ry, I'm so TIRED! Who knew being a model meant being so busy?" Malik complained, pouting foully as he stared up at the white ceiling of the hotel room that Ryou, Bakura, and him shared (there were different rooms for them all, it was quite the large suite after all).

The whitenette (that is a new word) giggled softly, plopping down on the side of the Egyptian's bed. "It's only been a few days since you started working here and you're already done with modeling?" Ryou inquired, sounding completely amused. Malik scowled, but then gave one of his usual smiles. You see, it had been exactly 3 days since that dreaded meeting with Kaiba, Keith and the twins. That had been the day when he had been assigned to Ryou and Bakura (actually, it had only been the angrier of the two, but after a simple hour it was made clear that Bakura wanted nothing to do with him so all duties that involved taking care of Malik and showing him the ropes had been passed on to Ryou) and since that time he'd had at least 3,000 pictures taken. The way he understood it, only about 10 of those pictures actually got put into Kaiba Corp's magazines, which was just plain annoying. His entire days were made up of eating breakfast with the twins, being driven to a photo-shoot by a chauffeur and doing a million different poses, eating lunch with Keith, going to another photo-shoot, and then being driven back to the hotel to eat dinner with Ryou (because Bakura usually got back at around 2:00am, therefore much too late for them to have dinner... not that Malik would anyways). As it was, that day they had both gotten back to the hotel rather late, and the tanned boy was simply too tired to go downstairs and pick up a bite to eat (although his stomach was screaming at him to do just that). Ryou never ate much, therefore Malik's friend had decided to simply stay with him and skip dinner all together, much to the Egyptian's discontent.

"No... it's not too bad, it's just... is this how it's always like?" he asked warily, starting to wonder if modeling wasn't truly for him. To his pleasant surprise however, Ryou shook his head.

"Not really, it's just been pretty busy this month. Not to mention you're new so Kaiba is signing you up for as many jobs possible."

"I noticed, he even limited my shower times."

"Speaking of showers, your schedule says you should be taking one-"

Grooaann. "But RYOU! I'm tired..." Malik whined, the thought of getting up causing him physical and mental pain. He turned over (so Ryou wouldn't be able to use that dreaded puppy dog face on him) and closed his eyes.

"Maaliik~ You get to sleep in tomorrow, nothing's happening except for the party, and that doesn't happen until late in the afternoon!" immediately the teen was standing up with excitement, eyes wide. He grabbed Ryou's shoulders, a huge grin plastered onto his tan face.

"I completely forgot! Thanks for reminding me, RyRy! Oh but what am I going to wear? We'll have to go shopping tomorrow before the party! Oh I'm so excited, everyone's acting like it's such a big-" a pale finger was pressed to his lips, and Malik fell silent (for he was pouting).

"It IS a big deal. But before anything, you have to go shower. We'll talk about the other things in the morning, okay?" asked his amused friend, and he gave a silent nod. Ryou smiled and removed his finger, then stood up. "I'm feeling slightly tired Malik so I do believe I'll be going to bed now, don't forget to shower." Like an obedient little puppy he nodded, still smiling widely to which the whitenette simply rolled his eyes.

"Goodnight RyRy!" he piped excitedly and his friend replied with a mumbled 'night' of his own. Still enthusiastic Malik nearly jumped into the bathroom, taking no time at all to strip down to- well- nothing at all. It was very late, but usually his mornings were so busy that Kaiba had decided Malik must shower late instead of early (that control freak) so here the Egyptian boy was, 11:30 at night, taking a shower.

With careful steps the teenager placed himself in the shower, closing the shower curtain and turning the warm water on. He let out a grateful sigh as it ran over his body, bringing his hands up to rub against all of his sore limbs (meaning just his arms and legs, you perverts) trying to rub the pain of standing in one pose too long away. Subconsciously he reached for the soap, lathering his hands with bubbles and then running said digits all along his body, thankful for the clean and rich feeling it was giving him. When ten minutes of simply lounging in the shower and shuffling his weight from one foot to the other had passed, he discovered that he was starting to feel drowsy again. Disliking the idea of falling asleep at the moment, Malik quickly lathered his hair with shampoo and conditioner before killing the water.

The Egyptian stumbled out of the tub, grabbing two towels. One he wrapped around his waist (because what if Ryou wasn't asleep yet? Malik didn't dare walk out naked, that'd be embarrassing!) while he used the other to soak some of the water out of his hair. After feeling that he'd been efficiently dried off, he dropped the second towel on the floor and made his way out of the bathroom, stifling a yawn. He was just getting over to the bed, starting to untie the knot in the towel that hung loosely from his lips when he heard the door open. Tiredly he glanced over, before his eyes snapped open. He'd been expecting someone like Ryou! Not someone like- someone like...!

"B-bakura!" he stated in a flustered manner, and he immediately grabbed his now loosened towel, successfully keeping it from falling off his hips. When he felt it was still in danger of slipping he stopped gawking at his least favorite twin and instead concentrated on fixing his towel. When he was satisfied with its knotted status, he looked back up, quite surprised to find that Bakura was still there yet the twin hadn't made any snide and hurtful remarks yet. No, it almost appeared as if the other man was... staring at him? But what was there to stare at? A confused expression crossed the Egyptian's face as he held the gaze that the twin and he were sharing. An unrecognizable emotion was flickering through his rival's eyes, and it made him slightly uncomfortable. "W-what...?" seemingly knocked out of his daze, Bakura's gaze soon turned into a fully fledged glare (with a smirk! A freaking SMIRK! How can someone smirk and glare at the same time? He'd thought that was a skill only Seto Kaiba had).

"Nothing, I just think it's amusing that you are getting all embarrassed when we're both guys." The 21-year old stated with a snort, and he huffed angrily.

"I only felt awkward because you wouldn't stop STARING!" He ground out angrily, eyes set in fierce competition.

"That's because I was wondering how you could have no abs whatsoever, it's pathetic. I spent the past 5 minutes trying to find some and they seem to be quite nonexistent." Bakura said smoothly, while the Egyptian bristled.

"What about you?! I bet you don't have anything to be proud of either!" Malik cried out in a voice that could only be described as a whine. This seemed to amuse the albino, whom was starting to pull off his shirt. "W-what are you-" when it was all the way off, the teenager understood quite well what the man had been trying to do. He could only stare in horror for a minute at what appeared to be a full six-pack! Not the scary ones of course, no, this type of pack was pure eye-candy. And Malik wasn't even gay! He stared for a few more moments before shivering, tilting his head up to give a hateful look to Bakura. Of course, it appeared that the other had once again zoned out and decided to give him that... look. This was started to bother him, so he made up his mind that he'd snap the other out of it. "And your hair?" he asked indignantly, stalking forward and grabbing a handful of the others seemingly untamable hair (which in his opinion looked like bunny ears towards the top) and his eyes were trained on the others. "It's so long, you're just like a girl!"

Bakura growled, his hand coming up to squeeze Malik's who was firmly pulling in a childish manner. "At least I'm not a stick, honestly are you anorexic?!" Their angry locked eyes didn't change, and the albino reached out, grabbing the Egyptian's thin stomach/waist as if to prove his point. But apparently, the two of them had extremely bad and loud timing, for it was at that moment that the door connecting Ryou's room and Malik's opened.

"Malik, what's with all the noise?" Asked a yawning Ryou as he rubbed his eyes. "Did Bakura-" When his eyes opened they were soon the size of dinner plates and he gasped, bringing up a hand to cover his mouth. "O-oh! I'm sorry, I-I should h-have knocked... I didn't know you two were... Oh my..." Malik blinked owlishly, confused. He and the other had fought loads of times, why was his friend acting oddly now...? Then it dawned on him what their position was.

Malik wore nothing but a towel, while his hand was reached up and buried in Bakura's hair. Said man had already taken his shirt off and had one hand on top of Malik's while the other was resting on the teenager's thin waist. He had to reach up rather high (damn Bakura for being so tall) to pull on the other's hair, so as it was their chests were touching rather... intimately. Their heads had been no more than a few inches away, and this all dawned on him in a rather matter-of-fact fashion. With wide, understanding eyes, he turned back to his rival, whom apparently was sharing the exact same thoughts. They locked eyes for exactly 3 seconds before they violently pushed each other away (which slightly sucked on Malik's behalf, because it turned out the man was rather strong and he was still rather wet, which in turn made him land flat on his ass) with identical looks of embarrassment spreading across their faces. He didn't even mind the fact that he'd just been pushed onto the ground, instead he was trying to find some quick explanation as to why Bakura and he had been in... THAT position. Nothing coming to mind, he realized that this predicament was quite funny when you thought about it, and wasn't able to help but burst out giggling. When he heard chuckling beside him, he was aware that his rival found this all hilarious in some silly way as well. Soon it was full out laughter that they had to purposefully contain themselves.

To say that Ryou was absolutely flabbergasted would be an understatement. Hell, the poor man looked SCARED! When the albino reached over and pinched himself, as if testing whether this was real or not, it just caused both Malik and Bakura to laugh harder. Only when a slightly fearful Ryou started to back away did they calm their laughing, and the Egyptian stood up. "Ryou, you gotta understand!"

"It's really-"

"Not what-"

"It looks like!" they said in unison, sharing smirks of their own this time. Don't get him wrong, he still strongly disliked the albino and they were rivals, but it seemed that they'd come to a certain understanding that they didn't need to fight all the time. This didn't seem to convince Ryou in the slightest; instead the man looked extremely doubtful.

Malik smiled broadly, while his rival had his trademark smirk on. "No, really! We were just fighting." he said, hand reaching down to tighten the towel on his hips. "We were making fun of each other; I didn't even notice our position." He said, sounding unconvincing even to his own ears. It was probably because of the way he couldn't stop grinning.

"Hmph. The idiot claimed I didn't have abs, that's why I took my shirt off." Bakura said, his nose up and his arms crossed in a high-and-mighty way.

"If... you say so." Ryou said, taking a step back as he glanced back and forth in between the both of them, appearing nervous. "I think I'll just be going back to bed though, if you don't mind." Malik and Bakura both opened their mouths to further convince their brother and friend, but the kind albino had already retreated into his room. They shared an amused look, before the Egyptian grinned.

"Goodnight!" He said happily, and then added with a wink, "fluffy." Bakura's eye twitched, and a lethal look appeared on his face, but understanding flashed in the other's eyes.

"Night, shortie." His rival retorted with a nod, and they grinned, before Bakura, like Ryou, turned and walked into his room.

Malik sighed, finally taking off his towel and pulling on some checkered boxers, and then fell back onto the bed, not bothering to get under the covers. He stared up at the ceiling, not thinking about anything in particular, but feeling happy. After all, it appeared he'd just come to some sort of understanding with his rival, and it always felt good to not feel hated. For a long time he lay there, just like that, mind wandering from one topic to another. Quite a few times in the last few days he'd been thinking about his brother and sister, feeling homesick almost. He had an agreement with Keith to always send his paycheck back home to them, but as it was Malik couldn't really confirm if they were getting the money. Who knows? You can never predict what will happen when Keith has cash on the mind, Malik had learned.

Finding such thoughts didn't suit his mood, he rolled onto his side, still not getting under the covers, and finally he let a small but adorable smile spread across his naturally pink lips, and he closed his eyes. A content feeling swirled in his stomach, and it only took moments for him to fall into a peaceful and dream free sleep.

**~*~*~*~**

Bakura let out a huge, cat-like yawn as his eyes blearily opened, out of habit glancing over at the clock. Damn, it was only 8:32am. Today was the day he could sleep in! Well, he never had been the type that could fall back to sleep once being awoken, so he moved his legs to the side of the bed and stood up. Ryou and Malik were probably still asleep (knowing those lazy bums... well, usually Bakura could be found in that category, but not this morning apparently), but he found no reason to waste the day so he quickly made his way to the middle room, that being his least favorite Egyptians. The reason was, Malik's room was the one that had the door that lead to the outside hall, so he had to pass through it when going in and out. Quietly he opened the door, glancing at the teenager's bed to see that the Egyptian was indeed still asleep, curled up on his side facing Bakura, a small smile on his lips.

He watched in somewhat fascination as the other breathed in and out peacefully, and as if his body had a mind of its own he wandered over to the bed. He stood for a moment, before getting down on his knees and resting his head in his arms on the bed, less than a foot away from sleeping beauty. Truth be told, the boy really was good looking, he had realized that the second he'd laid eyes on the teen. Of course, he'd never admit it, and his slight attraction to the teen was the main reason he acted so tough. He wasn't the type to admit that sort of thing though (like he'd just said), so for now all he could do was bask in everything the other did. The Egyptian was always so happy, it was off-putting. Whenever Bakura was around Malik, he heard laughter; it was as if the sun and stars followed the boy. Even arguing with the easily provoked teen made him feel light-headed.

Quite disturbed by his thoughts, he pushed them all out of his head, instead trying to memorize the look of contentment on the sleeping boy's face. He had no idea how much time past as he knelt there, staring at the teen, but when he heard rustling from the other room signaling him that Ryou was awake, he quickly stood up and made his way to the door, exiting before anyone noticed where he'd been. It was only as he was closing the door that he glanced at the clock on the wall:

10:45

He'd been staring at Malik for over two hours.

**~*~*~*~**

He awoke to the sound of a door opening and closing, and his eyes fluttered open as he stared at the empty place in front of him. Malik felt like someone had been there just seconds before, but of course he'd been imagining it. He licked his lips, which were chapped because he'd just woken up, and very lazily he sat up, letting out a loud yawn as he raised his arms above his head and began stretching. A few seconds later he looked over to Ryou's door, which was opening and revealing a tired but smiling albino. Malik grinned back and immediately felt more awake upon seeing his friend, and he stood up quickly, glancing over at the clock and realizing in surprise that it wasn't even 11:00 yet. He woke up early on the day he could sleep in!? Damn... "Morning RyRy!" he exclaimed happily, and his friend gave a tired wave, smiling.

"Good morning!" The albino said happily, before blinking. "Malik, we have to go shopping! You can't go to the party in your regular close after all!"

Malik nodded, it seemed that his friend had forgotten the conversation they'd had last night. "Sounds goods!" then something occurred to him... "I... don't have to wear a tuxedo or suit, do I?" He asked warily, and Ryou giggled, giving him all the answer he needed. He groaned, eyes closing. "But those things look so uncomfortable! I'm bound to look horrible in one." He said, a slight pout on his lips.

The man smiled, walking forward and patting Malik on the shoulder. "Don't worry, now that I think about it I'm sure Kaiba already has our outfits planned out." As if on que, Bakura opened the door, holding three boxes that without a doubt held different outfits in them.

"The bitch at the front desk said these are from Kaiba." He stated in an uncaring fashion, and his brother gasped.

"Bakura! What did she ever do?" Ryou asked, sounding horrified at the ruder twin's language. Said impolite twin raised an eyebrow.

"She called the paparazzi when I came down."

"That bitch!"

"Malik, not you too!"

"And she also hugged me, it was rather disgusting. She even had the paparazzi take a picture of it."

"That little bitch!" Ryou gasped out, earning rather entertained looks from the others in the room.

"What were you saying Ryou?" Malik teased.

"Err..."

All three of the models burst out laughing, but the Egyptian's laughter faded first as he spotted the boxes. "Do you know whose belong to whom?" he questioned nervously, and Bakura shook his head. Ryou walked towards the boxes, opening the first two.

"These two look exactly the same, except the black and white are reversed, so I'm guessing that they're ours." The happy albino explained, and Malik nodded, nervously waiting for Ryou to uncover the last box. The first two looked fairly attractive and official, one with a black undershirt and a white suit, with a red rose pinned on the front in addition. Its twin looked the same except with a white undershirt and a black suit. Pants followed the same opposite black and white fashion. Silver and black Italian masks were laid to the side of both costumes, because, as Malik had learned, the party tonight was something that people called a 'masquerade ball.' In this type of party, all occupants were to wear a mask, and if they did not then they would not be permitted to enter. Bakura pulled out the white suit and mask and stood up, but he did not leave, instead it seemed that the man was waiting to see what Malik's outfit looked like. Finally, Ryou moved his hands to the last box, lifting up the lid. To the Egyptian's surprise, there was neither tux nor suit in the box, instead a...

"Aah... Ryou?" The albino was silent for a moment, staring down at the box. Bakura was laughing his head off, while Malik was beat red.

"Yes?" His friend questioned, trying to hold back an amused but guilty smile.

"Why is there a waiter costume and a black mask in the box?" He dead panned, and Ryou giggled. Indeed, the uniform in the cardboard package was just that: a waiter costume. This meant a long sleeved white lycra shirt, a velvet vest, a bow tie, and black long lycra pants. Hell, it was perfect down to the white gloves and the shiny black shoes! In the side of the container was a shiny pitch black expensive looking mask, the only part of the outfit that Malik thought actually looked attractive.

"DAMN! I never knew that egoistic bastard had a sense of humor!" Exclaimed an overly amused and disrespectful twin, while Malik glared coldly.

Ryou smiled kindly and ruffled the Egyptian's hair, although Malik would not be fooled! He could tell that his friend was just as amused as his brother, the kinder twin was just much better at not being mean than his brother was. "Well you see Malik, it doesn't really matter what you wear as long as it's formal. It can be a costume even, like yours."

The teenager stared at them both incredulously, wondering if they actually expected him to wear such a ridiculous outfit. "I refuse to wear this!" he cried out, which caused Ryou to giggle. Indeed, it did appear that Malik had no choice in the slightest. After all: no one defies the great cold-hearted Seto Kaiba if they wish to live to see the daylight of tomorrow.

"And why not?" Bakura asked indignantly. The Egyptian could only stare angrily, glancing back and forth between the twins before giving a sigh of defeat.

"Because it's _embarrassing__._" He whined unhappily, knowing that it didn't matter what he thought of the outfit. Ryou gave him a sympathetic hug, which caused Bakura to bristle (after all, he absolutely hated it whenever Malik got attention from Ryou, no one was allowed to touch his brother).

"Well..." Bakura drawled out. "At least I know who to go to if I want another drink~" The man cackled, before running into his room so the model wouldn't have to face the seething teenager on the ground.

**~*~*~*~**

A few hours later found the three of them standing outside the hotel, and one of the three looking absolutely flabbergasted. He let out a loud, absolutely shocked gasp. "We're... riding in... this?" Malik asked in awe, placing his hands on the long black car also known as a 'limo' that was in front of him. Ryou giggled.

"You've never been in a limo before?" The albino asked, and Malik shook his head, a dumbfounded look on his tan face. He burst out laughing happily, nearly jumping in his place as the chauffer opened the door allowing the three models to get in the limo. The Egyptian was the first to go, nearly skyrocketing inside the vehicle. He looked around in awe, sinking into a very comfortable cushion and closing his eyes, before opening them and looking at the ceiling which was changing colors as he watched. His wide amethyst eyes simply stared in amazement, and he smiled broadly, the colors reflecting beautifully on his eyes and face. Completely mesmerized, he didn't notice that he was being watched carefully by one of the occupants of the limo.

The radio played the most popular music of today loudly, so that cars in other lanes could no doubt hear the songs and determine what was playing. It was only when his friend, Ryou, started fidgeting at the start of one song that he stopped staring at the ceiling's changing colors. "Something wrong, RyRy?" he asked curiously, and the albino shook his head.

"Just... don't like this song." The man explained which caused Malik to start listening with curiosity. As far as he could tell, it was one of the most popular songs. It didn't seem like his friend to start complaining about the music, which befuddled him. The music seemed absolutely fine to him, a catchy tune with an absolutely astounding handsome male voice.

A snort from his left caused him to look at the other occupant of the limo; Bakura. "Don't listen to Ryou." Malik blinked in confusion, to which the more badass twin rolled his eyes. "He likes the song; it's the artist he doesn't like." The Egyptian blinked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Why not?" He asked, while Ryou could be heard protesting in the background.

"It's not that! We just don't... get along..." Ryou stated, sounding embarrassed. Malik's jaw dropped and he stared in pure astonishment, pinching himself just like Ryou had done the night before. He shook his head, trying to wake himself, but to his amazement nothing happened.

He stared with huge purple eyes at his friend. "You mean..." He gulped, almost unable to speak. "There's someone that actually finds it possible to **dislike **you!?" He yelled, to which Ryou blushed. "Who is this guy? I need to knock some sense into him; he sounds like a total-"

"As to whom he is, his name is 'Marik Ramesses.' And he doesn't dislike Ryou, quite the opposite. Ryou's the one that dislikes him. AND he's my best friend." Bakura added the last part with a smirk, and the stunned Malik could only listen on. "You'll see why Ryou feels the way he does when we get to the party, Marik should be there."

_**(A/N: I needed a last name for Marik, because obviously Ishtar wouldn't do**__**.**__** Ramesses means 'Son of Ra' so I thought it fit)**_

"Marik's going to be there?!" Ryou all but squeaked, eyes wide with panic. Malik stared at the twins, not quite sure what to think of this new discovery. "Maybe we shouldn't be going to this thing, it's not like it's that big of a-"

"Oh, look Malik, Ryou. We're here." Bakura stated smugly, and Malik could only stare out the window in awe. In a daze he felt himself be pushed out the door, and he parted his lips as if to say something but nothing came out, and he could only stare at the house in front of him.

Moments went by, and it was only when a pale hand belonging to none other than a nervous Ryou passed in front of his eyes that he was knocked out of his daze. "Is that... a house?" He managed to gulp out, to which Bakura laughed and Ryou nodded. The huge estate in front of them must be at least 4 stories high (if not more), and it was painted a deep mahogany color, with a beautiful traditional but at the same time modern Japanese styled black roof. The area around it was decorated with plants of all sizes, falling from flowers to bushes to huge truck sized trees. There was even a pond!

"More like a mansion!" The badass twin snorted, before reaching into the limo and pulling out their masks. He threw one to Malik, and then calmly helped Ryou put his on. Malik glared, while Bakura smirked and put his own on. It was odd, looking through the mask and then seeing Bakura and Ryou. Obviously he could easily recognize them, what with them having the long white striking hair and all, but it was still off-putting. Malik nodded in agreement with Bakura's statement, and then glanced around the grounds.

"There's a lot of people here..." He mumbled nervously, but felt his anxiety ease slightly upon noticing that quite a few of the guests were wearing costumes, just like him. The entire population of woman appeared to be wearing old fashioned huge Italian dresses, like those that you actually might have expected to see at a masquerade ball way back in the 1500s. However, his nerves were reinstated when he saw that almost everyone had someone next to them, whom they were hooking arms with. It then occurred to him that most of the people here were coming in couples, and wasn't he the guest of Bakura? Well that was rather awkward- not that it mattered, not everyone had a date! Ryou, for example wasn't going with anyone. Kaiba didn't seem like the type to go with a girl, but you never could predict when it came to that guy. Keith... well, Keith was Keith. Most likely the American was taking a very rich woman.

"Don't worry; I'm sure everyone will love you. You've actually been quite a rumor among the celebrities; everyone wants to meet the 'natural' model." Although Ryou had obviously meant to calm him, this did nothing to make him feel any better. In fact, quite the opposite. He squeaked in horror.

He turned to his friend, obviously tense. "W-what sort of rumors!? I hope they're not-"

"Shit, it's the paparazzi." Bakura hissed, grabbing both Ryou and Malik. "We can talk about this inside: I do NOT want to get interviewed right now." Both the models that the albino was dragging turned to look at their left and right, and indeed it seemed that flashing camera's were on either side of them. All of the celebrities that had been previously lounging in front of the mansion quickly made their way to the entrance, where a female was checking them in. To Malik's amusement, it appeared that quite a few people (eager fans, probably) were getting turned away rather coldly and carried away by scary looking security men. While there were quite a few eager people that got turned away from the house, there were also an unlimited number of people filing in. Once they reached the front, the woman whom was asking for people's names didn't even speak a word to Bakura and Ryou, instead letting them pass without argument. However, when the teenager tried to follow after his friend and rival, a firm hand lashed out in front of him. He blinked in surprise, looking at the woman.

"I did not say you could go in!" She said in a cold voice, looking formal and polite, but at the same time appearing quite fierce. "Name?" She asked, and Malik made a face.

"Err... Malik Ishtar." He said honestly, eyes wide with surprise at being stopped. The woman scanned the list, and then looked back up, smirking.

"Not on the list, bettter luck next time kiddo." She said, and then motioned for one of the security guards to take him away. Malik began to panic, looking in front of him to see that Bakura and Ryou were walking forward, apparently not noticing his absence for he had been walking behind them. The man harshly started tugging on his arm, and he let out a yelp of pain as it was pulled harder than it could take and almost popped out of its socket. He felt fear well up in him, and he knew he was overreacting but he immediately closed his eyes and yelled out the first thing that came to him.

"B-Bakura!" He cried in a pained voice, not processing what he'd just said. If he did, he would have question to himself why he yelled 'Bakura' and not 'Ryou', but as it was he wasn't even aware of what he'd said. It turned out he'd said the right thing, for the owner of the name he'd yelled out whipped around in surprise, and upon seeing the scene became furious in a matter of seconds.

**~*~*~*~**

Bakura quickly turned around upon hearing his name said by _that_ voice. That unmistakable beautiful voice had sounded pained, and he felt anger charge through his entire being as he saw a guard foolishly trying to pull the Egyptian away from the entrance to the party. He stalked forward quickly, taking no time at all to violently shove the brute away from Malik, resisting the urge to punch him right there. Not a second later he placed his arm around the scared boy's shoulders, and he gave a dark glare to the stunned woman whom had failed to check Malik in.

"He's **my** guest, you bitch." He snarled angrily, and the woman nodded mutely. All the celebrities that had heard the commotion (and considering the music was still blasting and everyone in the ball room that they were currently standing in was socializing, it was only about 10 people) looked quite surprised, for Bakura was not known to be so angry, usually just rude. He gave everyone a glare, before looking down with softening eyes at Malik, turning to the teenager that he now noticed was in his arms, the look of panic that had been on his face a few moments ago now replaced with a taken aback face. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly, and the skinny boy in front of him nodded uncertainly.

"I... I over-reacted. It was nothing, my arm came close to being dislocated but it's really no big-" Malik was silenced as Bakura turned to give the gulping brute a glare that marveled Seto Kaiba's, before turning back to the smiling Egyptian. Realizing how protective and caring he seemed, anger at himself welled up inside him and he pushed the teen away and cleared his throat in an embarrassed fashion.

**~*~*~*~**

"You screamed my name like a girl, to think I thought something was wrong. You really are a baby." Bakura snorted out, however Malik just giggled, knowing that the other was just embarrassed because of what he'd done.

"And you rescued me, my prince charming, neh?" Malik joked with a laugh, before happily walking over to meet with Ryou, completely missing the look of a surprised Bakura. His friend looked slightly guilty and worried.

"I'm sorry Malik! I forgot that you were our guest and weren't on the list, I should have remembered." Ryou apologized, to which Malik simply laughed.

"It's alright, Ryou! Your brother fixed-"

"Malik Ishtar!" Said a feminine and rich (but kind) voice, and he blinked, looking around curiously to find the source of the woman that had yelled out his name. To his surprise, he saw a beautiful and very tall woman (with absolutely gigantic breasts- if that's not a give away I don't know what is) making her way towards him. He could only stare, then look around in confusion before pointing to himself, confused as to why such a beautiful woman would wish to talk to him. She let out a loud laugh, and Malik blinked up at her. She wore a beautiful but slightly revealing dress and a butterfly mask, which suited her quite well. The unknown woman had long blonde hair, and he felt that he recognized her from somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it considering she had a mask on.

The Egyptian blinked owlishly, before giving off one of his adorable uncertain smiles. "Ah... That's my name, d-do I know you?" He asked nervously, locking his fingers together as a distraction.

The woman laughed again. "Don't tell me you don't recognize little old me?!" the woman asked loudly. "I should have known that the star I've been hearing about would make a big entrance, and I can see why Kaiba hired you! You are pretty cute." Malik flushed a pink color, mumbling an embarrassed thank you. He glanced over at Ryou, but to his dismay saw that his friend was speaking with another most likely famous celebrity. He looked back over at the woman. "Oh, how rude of me! You still don't know who I am." The blonde woman then continued to raise a hand to her head, and then took the butterfly mask off, to which Malik gasped, his purple eyes huge.

"Y-you're...!" His mouth opened a few times in shock. "Mai Valentine! I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize you with the mask on, but I've seen you in loads of movies and magazines! You're an actress right? Oh and you're the one hosting this party! Oh shit, that was so stupid of me; I can't believe I didn't know who you were. Oh god I'm rambling aren't I?" she laughed, and he shut his mouth so he wouldn't say anything more, before bowing in respect. "P-pleased to meet you..." he stated politely, glancing up through his bangs at the beautiful, famous actress. Everyone knew who she was; she was like a female Japanese version of the American Zac Efron.

"You sure mumble like an idiot when you're nervous, kiddo." Said an amused voice from beside him, and Malik turned his head to glare at the masked Bakura to his right.

"Oh shut up, fluffy."

"Make me, boy."

"Maybe I will!" He growled angrily, and they both seemed to have completely forgotten the presence of the blonde woman in front of them until they were reminded.

"Look how the strong have fallen, Bakura." Mai mused, to which Bakura sent a tough glare in her direction. Malik blinked in confusion, before realizing that Mai was probably just talking about how his rival was arguing with a young teenager. The thought had him bristling slightly but he didn't comment. "Anyways, I was hoping that hot-stuff here would dance with me." The woman winked at Malik, then gestured to the widespread dance floor where couples were littered randomly, apparently sharing a dance that Malik knew to be the waltz.

He gulped. "Umm... I would really, really love to. I mean it, but the thing is..." He glanced around, obviously embarrassed. "I can't exactly slow-dance..." he stated quietly, and both Bakura and Mai burst out laughing. He went red, and threw offended looks at both of them, before crossing his arms in a pout.

"That's alright, I'll show you how, no worries cutie~!" Mai said happily, and Malik smiled uncertainly.

"Well... if you say so. But you need to stop calling me cutie, or else I think I might have to say no." he said with wide eyes, and the woman laughed. Bakura was looking at them both oddly, before growling.

"It'll look ridiculous. She's at least 5 inches taller than you!" The twin said angrily, to which Malik rolled his eyes. He happily ignored the comment, before eagerly taking Mai's hand and bringing her onto the dance floor. The woman happily let herself be pulled, and the Egyptian wasn't aware when she turned around and stuck out her tongue at a bristling Bakura. With calm and practiced hands Mai took one of his hands and placed it on her back, and then she took and held his other. Just like that, she instructed him to follow her steps, and that he did. He had a skill for the type of dancing that took place in clubs, something he'd taught himself, so learning the steps to something such as the waltz actually wasn't too hard.

"On the first step forward, the weight is taken on the heel, then on to the ball of the foot. A gradual rise to the toes should be started at the end of the first beat, that being this one, and continued to the second and third beat of each bar of music. Lower to the normal position at the end of the third beat by lowering to the heel of the foot which is carrying the weight." She instructed, while doing such things and leading Malik around the room as they danced. He tried to follow her words, but they seemed to just confuse him (although he had to admit, he was doing quite good).

"Oops! Sorry!" he mumbled as he stepped on her foot, and a pink tint spread across his cheeks for the umpteenth time that day.

"It's alright darling, I swear you weigh nothing at all!" she said, and Malik found that he rather liked this 'Valentine' woman. She was very beautiful, and although she obviously thought highly of herself, the blonde woman was very nice. She was going out of her way to be kind to him, the rumored new guy apparently. Although she had all these qualities and Malik had no doubt that there were a large number of men that were after her body and hand in marriage, he couldn't find it in himself to find an actual attraction to the woman. She seemed like such a motherly figure, something that he'd always longed for but never had. So as they danced, he felt a smile spread over his lips and found himself laughing and conversing easily with the woman. They twirled and leaned and rose and fell around the room, just like all the other occupants. They were not the best on the floor, but Malik felt as if he was shining. Once the song ended, they both bowed, and his eyes held a sparkle of happiness.

"You're quite the quick learner! Are you sure you've never danced before?" She questioned, her hands on her hips in a slightly scolding voice. He didn't know how, but somehow Mai had gotten the message, for she was no longer sending him flirtatious winks of that sort, instead she seemed to be acting like an older sister (although to Malik it was still mother, however he did not think the woman would appreciate it if he told her that) a fact in which Malik highly appreciated.

He laughed, grin never fading. "Nah! You're a great teacher though."He complimented.

"Oh you flatter me~ I'm afraid I must get back to my other guests though. After all, I don't want all the men after me to hate you!" she said, and Malik glanced around. Sure enough, there were quite a few young handsome looking men that were giving him reproachful looks. He smiled nervously and nodded.

"I'll see you then!" he smiled, and they parted ways. He glanced around the large room, looking for one of the twins. Another song had started up, and he resisted laughing when he saw Keith was there, dancing with a very attractive redhead. His gaze passed, and then landed on the ice king himself; Seto Kaiba, whom was surrounded by a group of men and woman and looking quite smug even though there was no trace of a smile on his lips. He smiled broadly, and waved slightly when the brunet happened to glance his way. Kaiba gave a nod of greeting then went back to the conversation he was having. Malik made a face at the man, before looking some more. There! Ryou and Bakura stood by the refreshment table, talking happily to each other and the occasional celebrity passerby. Hurriedly he made his way over to the two, smiling when he reached his destination.

"Ryou, Bakura!" He exclaimed happily, and Ryou turned to him, smiling.

"I see you're enjoying yourself." The kind albino said upon seeing his grinning form.

A growl came from the other twin, and Malik glanced over to see Bakura looking slightly angry. "I'm guessing he would, considering he just danced with Mai Valentine." The twin snarled, and Malik took a step back, looking surprised. Why was the man getting so worked up? It's not like he'd done anything that meant he deserved such rude behavior. It was almost like Bakura was...

"Err.... do you, ah... have an attraction to Mai?" he asked curiously, for it almost seemed as if the man was jealous. If he'd known that, he wouldn't have danced with the blonde girl. Ryou began laughing, and Bakura gave him an odd look.

"Fuck no." The man said, and Ryou giggled, poking Malik in the arm.

"He doesn't go for Mai's type." The albino explained, and Malik blinked in confusion, not understanding. Ryou began to fidget uncomfortably, wondering how the Egyptian could be so clueless. "Oh come on, you know. He 'plays for the other side'." Once again, he didn't get it. "He's not interested in people with breasts?" Ryou tried, which just puzzled him even more.

Bakura sighed, obviously irritated. "For fucks sake, Malik. I like guys." The twin said bluntly, to which the boy gaped. Had he... heard right? Well, it's not like he had anything against gays, but how could the other say it so directly! Quickly he glanced around, hoping that no one had heard for Bakura's sake. "Everyone knows, even the paparazzi." The now officially labeled 'gay' man said while rolling his eyes.

"Oh." He said nervously, and Bakura looked even more irritated now.

"Don't tell me you're a homophobe?" Bakura asked.

"N-no! Of course not!" He answered quickly, not wanting the twins to think he was like that. He mentally noted that he should probably ask Ryou what his 'orientation' was later.

"Then what's the problem?" The badass twin crossed his arms in a no-nonsense fashion.

"It's just... surprising." Malik said, unsure. He felt bad now, for saying 'oh.' Honestly, that was extremely rude (and kind of stupid), especially considering that he and the white haired demon had been getting along fairly well.

"Why?" Ryou asked now, actually sounding curious.

Malik fidgeted, not sure if he liked being put under both the twin's gazes. "Because..." He started, glancing at them both. "All the girls at my school always talk about you two as if you're god, they fantasize about marrying you." He said quickly, sounding rather embarrassed. Bakura let out a cruel laugh while Ryou had a slightly disturbed look on his face. "Can we change the conversation please?" He asked shyly, feeling like his rival was laughing at him.

Ryou nodded, giggling, and then gestured to the food. "You should try some Malik! It's delicious!" Upon looking at the buffet styled food, it took little to no convincing to get him to start packing food upon his plate happily. Just as he was reaching for an appetizing looking brownie, a voice that he didn't recognize resounded from behind him.

"Aahh! Ryou, I've been looking for you!" The voice said.

"Oh no..." Ryou mumbled, sounding annoyed.

"Did you miss me?" Purred out the voice, and Malik turned around in surprise, for he didn't know very many people that spoke to his friend in such a way. Upon looking at his friend, he saw that there was a tan man in front of him, which actually looked quite a bit like Malik except much taller with spikier hair. The man that by now Malik assumed was 'Marik' wore a white mask, a top hat and held a cane in his hand. Marik had a huge smirk on his face, and was only a few inches away from a very uncomfortable looking Ryou, who took a step back.

"Ah... to be honest you didn't really cross my mind." His friend said bluntly, to which Marik put on a fake look of being crestfallen.

"I know you don't mean that though, lovely little Ryou~" The man with the top hat said, sounding positive.

"Sometimes I really wish you would believe me when I say I really, really do." Ryou said with a sigh, to which Malik gawked. The man smirked and took off his hat before leaning down and taking Ryou's hand, and did cliché thing that Malik hadn't expected him to do: Marik kissed Ryou on the hand.

Malik watched with amusement, before glancing over at Bakura, expecting the man to stop this, but was stunned to see that the overly-protective twin was smirking. Ryou looked absolutely disgusted, and pulled his hand away. Malik inched over to the more badass twin, and then whispered something so that the newcomer and Ryou wouldn't over-hear. "I thought you didn't like people touching Ryou?" He questioned curiously, and Bakura looked down at Malik.

"It's Marik, he acts like a pervert but truly he's as harmless as a kitten." Bakura said uncaringly, and he nodded doubtfully, glancing back at the man, trying to compare him as a kitten mentally and failing. The only thing that was similar about the man and cats was they were both hairy.

He then glanced up at Bakura as a thought occurred to him. "Hey!" he cried, forgetting his tact of whispering. "If _he's_ innocent, which if you ask me he's obviously not, then why can't I touch Ryou?" He asked, unable to believe this. Sure, Bakura claimed that this 'Marik' was harmless, but he DID kiss Ryou on the hand! Malik would brush past the kind albino and it would start an argument between him and his rival! This just amused Bakura though, for he smirked.

"You, are a trash that is not worth my brother's time." Bakura said easily, and Malik felt himself bristle. He was about to retort, but apparently they'd caught the attention of the other two however.

"Heh, Baku is this your date?" Marik inquired, pacing forward and leaning down, then proceeding to tilt the Egyptian's chin up so they were nearly eye to eye. "He's a nice catch, I'm proud of you!" The singer purred, and Malik felt his eye twitch. Bakura too seemed annoyed, and Ryou was sniffing, apparently thinking this was good pay-back considering neither of them had helped the poor albino when he'd been the prey of the singer.

"I am NOT nor will I ever be his date." Malik stated, standing firm and glaring at Marik, his hands resting on his hips.

They stared/glared (Marik doing the amused staring, Malik hatefully staring) at each other for a few moments before the man in the top hat snorted, pulling away from him. "I'll give you two till the end of the month, if you're not doing it like bunnies by that time I'll leave Ryou alone for a year." Ryou seemed ecstatic about this idea, and it brought Malik pleasure too for he knew it would never happen. Bakura was the only one that looked unfazed.

"Agreed!" Malik exclaimed happily, and Ryou nodded vigorously.

"But for now, can we leave? These parties are so annoying; can't we go outside or something?" Marik asked Bakura, who nodded in obvious agreement. Ryou didn't comment, although Malik got the feeling that the kind albino secretly shared their opinion. The Egyptian sniffled, glancing over at the absolutely wonderful plate of food he'd prepared before sighing, grouchily nodding his OK.

The four sneakily made their way to the exit, not wishing to be question as to why they were leaving so early. Of course, they'd be back. Kaiba controlled them all and that bastard would definitely not be pleased if they left the party just a half hour after arriving, but as it was they needed to get out (although Malik would disagree; he'd been having a fairly good time) and get some fresh air. Once again he found himself walking behind his companions (except it was now three instead of two) and for the second time he was stopped, and his companions went on, except this time it wasn't as lethal (or was it?).

"Ishtar." Malik froze, his eyes widening as he fearfully turned around, staring into the ice blue eyes of Satan (since when did Satan have blue eyes?) and shivering in fear.

"Yes?" He squeaked quietly, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

Kaiba walked forward, straightening Malik's waiter vest. "You look ridiculous sneaking around in that. Make sure Marik and Bakura don't burn down Miss. Valentine's house, I don't want to pay to have it prepared again." Malik started to laugh, thinking the man in front of him was joking, before gulping when he realized that the ice king was dead serious. He nodded in understanding. "Also, try not to get in a fight with Bakura outside. The paparazzi will jump to conclusions." He blinked, not exactly understanding but giving an uncertain nod. "Good, now go. One of those losers will be looking for you soon." Stated Kaiba, before the man swiftly turned around and started up a conversation with a rich looking man. Malik shook his head, and sure enough upon turning around he saw someone (Bakura) coming for him.

"How the bloody hell can you get lost on the way to the door?" The albino growled as he took Malik's wrist and started pulling him towards the door. The Egyptian rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away and following after the other.

He would have much preferred if Ryou had come in search of him, he seemed to be the much kinder and the 'don't ask questions' type of twin. "I can't believe you left Ryou and Marik alone with each other, do you want your brother to get raped?" he drawled, although obviously he was joking.

Bakura sent him a glare, apparently not amused. "Because Marik and Ryou can take care of themselves, unlike you. Your mother obviously didn't teach you manners or any sense of direction!" they had just gotten outside and Malik stiffened, eyes narrowing slightly as he felt something knot in his stomach. He knew that he shouldn't get worked up over that statement, but anything to do with... _that _topic always managed to set him off.

"My mother's dead." He stated quietly, obviously angry. Although Bakura didn't seem to catch the angry drift and seemed to think that the Egyptian was still joking.

"She probably died to get away from you." The twin said with a chuckle, and before Malik knew what he was doing he had pinned the albino against the wall, fury sky-rocketing through his eyes.

"Don't you fucking dare talk about her that way!" He cried angrily, hurt echoing in his being. After all, it was his fault. It was his fault that she'd died and Bakura had said it without even knowing anything about the situation. He was a failure of a son, and it seemed to be as obvious as day to someone even like Bakura.

His act of violence seemed to irritate the man he was currently pinning against a wall (his hands were pressed into the other's shoulders), and Bakura snarled. "Or what? You can't do anything shortie." He bristled, and the words that the twin said etched into his mind and he felt enraged. Without even thinking he started to pull his fist back, every intention of punching the living daylights out of the man in front of him. How DARE he! The words Kaiba had said to him were long forgotten, and just as he was getting ready to thrust his hand forward Bakura made his move, spinning Malik around so _he_ was the one pinned against the wall. To make sure the other didn't retaliate the whitenette grabbed both his hands and lifted them above his head. Bakura leaned in; eyes lethal as he glared at Malik, whom glared back. Neither of them noticed the small details, like the fact that their chests were touching, or the way that Bakura's leg was pressed in between both of Malik's. No, if they had things might have turned out a lot differently, and they would have pulled away immediately, but as it was they were completely oblivious. The pose looked extremely suggestive, but they didn't notice a thing. Just as Bakura opened his mouth to growl something else, something happened.

**FLASH.**

One picture sent their world crashing down.

**~*~*~*~**

"_Like a shooting star across the midnight sky..._

_Wherever you are, you're gonna' see me fly."_

_-Bang (Song: Shooting Star)_

**~*~*~*~**

**Ohmaiigosh... xD I love myself. **

**Now...**

**Everyone, watch out. **

**Bakura and Malik are going to kill me and I'm not going to be able to finish this story o.o**

**But wooohh!!**

**I really really really loved this chapter. xD It made me feel fluffy and good about myself to write. My fingers just wouldn't stop! I had so much I wanted to say. I can't decded what my favorite part was, it was either the towel scene, the sleeping one, when Marik came in, or the very end. XD I can just hope that you love this chapter as much as I do! God I sound like such a narcissist o___o**

**You know what's really scary though? IT'S SO LONG! 22 FREAKING PAGES ON WORD! The last chapter was 12 lmao XD **

**And the chapter before that was 8! The next chapter is going to be like 40 I say lawlz (don't hold me to that, please please don't)**

**Oh xD Btw everyone? I know that Malik is actually tall in the anime, but let's face it. He's an uke and there is just no plausible way that I'd have him be tall in this. That's Bakura's job! 8D**

**Also! Bakura and Ryou are 21... The way I decided that was because in the real show, Thief King Bakura was 21 or 22 (can't remember) so it fits. See? I don't randomly decide these things, I think first .**

**Thank you everyone so much for reviewing 8D The next chapter shall be out... **

**I have no idea o.o I am failing school because I spend so much time writing this blasted fanfiction lololol. You better review me good grades! **

**Or I can send you my homework . Either way~~**

**REVIEW ME A HUG! 8D And then you'll get cookies and smexy Marik kissing your hand!!!!!!!**

**I'm such a freak x]**

**P.S.: I know that this came on rather quick for Bakura to realize that he has an attraction to Malik, but I PROMISE YOU they shall not be getting together for a LONG TIME. .**

**3 3 3**

**Word Count: 10.030 **

**Date Completed: 1/17/10**


	4. Caught WhiteHanded

**HEY EVERYONE ! 8D Angael here, did yuh miisss meeee ? x] **

**Sorry, I've been catching up on my Katekyo Hitman Reborn ;;****.**** That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! **

**Shit Byakuran's sexy****.**

**Like honestly, even if you don't watch the show, look up 'Byakuran' and you'll be seeing ultimate smexy****.**** White spiky hair, purple tattoos, and a marsh mellow fetish****.**** What more could you fucking ask for? O****.****o**

**Go watch itt ;D It's tied for my favorite anime cos of its fluff but plot at the same time ! Just warning you, towards the beginning about 60% of episodes are filler o****.****o But now-a-days only 1 in every 10 episodes is xD**

**Speaking of that, the first person to guess the name of the person in my icon and what anime he's in gets a cookie and chapter dedication! 8D WHEE~~~ **

**P****.****S****.****:**

**Malik's gay 8D LOLOLOL****.**

**Beta: Loss****.****oF****.****SaNiiTee ****.**** Did you know this person is my best friend AND SETO FREAKIN' KAIBA? 8D Like honestly: you want to talk to Seto Kaiba ? Talk to her****.**** She is his reincarnation****.****.**

**Ugh****.**** What did I do wrong with this chapter? Dx**

**Title: Shooting Star**

**Chapter Title: Caught White-Handed (Chapter 2)**

**~*~*~*~**

**FLASH****.**

Malik's head immediately snapped to the side, his eyes wide as he stared at the shiny black camera which was now facing their direction exactly. Confusion welled up in his eyes, and his attempts to free his arms from Bakura's hold hesitated for a moment, uncertain of what the camera had caught exactly. More flashes came from the same camera, an eager photographer taking as many pictures as possible at the moment. Angrily Bakura pulled away from him and began making his way over to the paparazzi, but it was too late. The man was already quickly putting the camera away and hurrying away from the scene, and Malik could only be grateful that it had only been one person instead of a horde of reporters and such. Bakura did not seem to share his thankfulness.

"Shit." Malik blinked, unsure why the albino was worried. So what if they'd been caught fighting in a few pictures? No actual wounds had been inflicted. "Shitshitshit. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck." The twin repeated the cuss words like a mantra, until finally the blond had had enough and he walked forward, placing a hand on Bakura's shoulder.

"It's no big deal; we didn't even punch each other. They don't have very much to work with." Malik stated with a slight smile, his anger from before disappearing slightly for it seemed that his rival/friend/enemy seemed to be just a bit worked up. Said man was looking at him incredulously, before a look of fury crossed across the others face.

"You just don't get it do you!? You're so naïve!"Bakura ground out, still seething, but not a split second later he was deadly calm, no sign of the anger that had been scaring the shit out of the Egyptian just moments ago. Bakura stared at him for a few very long moments, before narrowing his eyes in something that definitely didn't look friendly. "I don't even fucking care. You can see what happens on your own time!"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "See what happen, Bakura?" Malik asked curiously, slightly uneasy because of the deadly tone that had been in his rival's voice.

The albino shook his head, not responding. This worried the tan boy, whom was about to start demanding why/what Bakura had gotten so worked up over, but was interrupted.

"Baku~! Ishtar!" Marik cried, rushing forward excitedly. "Did I win the bet already? God Bakura, I thought you had more class than to do it outside where even the paparazzi could see you, but I'll give you some credit considering that must have taken a shit load of nerve." The tanned singer (being as oblivious/devious as he could) did not notice the growing more heated and angry by the second glares he was receiving. "Was it good? He certainly looks delicious. Did you two go all the way? Or are you sticking to the foreplay first? I really hope you were on top Baku, you're simply so much taller than him that it would be embarrassing if you were the-"

"Of course I was on top! Err, n-no that's really not what I meant. I meant to say that if we actually had done it I would be on top, Malik on bottom. That's exactly what happened, what would happen I mean! I don't mean to say M-Malik and I are in relationship, because that would just be ridiculous b-but... GOD DAMNIT FUCK YOU MARIK." Bakura gave up on speaking, instead choosing to insult and cuss. After all, words hadn't gotten the albino to where Bakura was today. If that were the case, he had the feeling that his rival would be homeless (if the world was ruled by words, that is).

Malik blinked, bewildered and insulted, before turning to Marik and putting a hand on Marik's arm. "Listen, er... Marik? I think you should know... I'm interested in girls." He stated awkwardly but deadly serious, having wanted to clear this up for quite some time. He had loads of friends that were 100% not straight, and while he had absolutely no problem with that whatsoever, he still chose to stick and prefer the female gender. In all honesty he'd never had a crush on a girl nor an attraction (although he wasn't about to admit that), but the same thing went for men. Huh, maybe he was asexual? That definitely wouldn't be good.

He simply blinked as three surprised sets of eyes stared at him for a few long seconds, before two of the three burst out laughing, claiming that was 'funny shit.' He went beat red, obviously insulted, and when he heard giggling from Ryou he whipped around, hands on hips. "What's so funny?!" He growled angrily, to which Ryou immediately squeaked and stopped the laughter.

"Well... n-nothing I suppose. It's just I thought..." Ryou didn't seem to have an actual excuse, and Malik's eyes narrowed dangerously. Thankfully (for the kind twin) someone else spoke up.

"What my brother means to say, Malik..." Bakura imitated his twin's kind voice, and Malik's eyes took on a suspicious look now, "Is that you're about as straight as a rainbow. That being... not at all~"

Malik hissed, and started to launch himself at the cackling Bakura, but was held back by a timid Ryou and a laughing Marik. He 'hmph'ed, and gave his least favorite twin a look that said 'I'll get you for that later' but simply crossed his arms for now. Then he smiled, realizing the comical side of their conversation and choosing to laugh with his friends. He looked over the three of them, and then his gaze stopped on Marik and he blinked, realizing he had quite stupidly missed something that was as clear as day. "Hey Marik..." He started, and caught the singer's attention. "Are you Egyptian?" He asked, excitement laced into his eyes and voice.

The man in front of him chuckled, nodding. "Yes, yes. You're a silly kid, just noticing. I could tell your origins the second I laid eyes on you." Malik pouted, while the blond man reached out and ruffled his hair. "I moved here when I was six, ever since I've chosen not to go back." He furrowed his eyebrows, troubled by this. Was Egypt the sort of place that people from Japan looked down on?

"Why is that?" He asked, and didn't notice when the twins started a conversation of their own, apparently bored by the two Egyptian's chat. Marik blinked.

"Well, you know how Egypt is. It's dangerous and has a bad reputation. I've just never had the incentive to go back there!" The singer said with a slightly insane grin, while he couldn't really take in the other's words. After all, this man probably knew much, much more about Egypt than Malik did.

"Oh... well, I moved here a year ago." He stated nervously with a smile, and then abruptly ended the conversation with a nod of his head, not wanting to be questioned about his life back in the desert. Instead, he turned back to the twins, who seemed to be having a heated argument.

"But that's not fair!" Ryou cried, while the badass twin simply smirked.

"It's **perfectly **fair, Ryou. A bet requires two ends, something you can gain and something you can lose." Bakura stated, sounding quite sophisticated. Malik blinked, wondering curiously what his friends were talking about, before going forward and poking Ryou.

He smiled as his friend (was it best friend? They'd only known each other for a few days, but the albino really was the kindest person he'd ever met) turned towards him. "What's wrong, RyRy?" The man gave him a hopeless look.

"Malik, Bakura's being ridiculous! He's trying to make me-"

"But I thought you were confident that we'd win the bet?" Bakura asked, hand on his chin in a thoughtful but annoyed manner. Ryou flushed pink, nodding vigorously.

"Of course you will! But I'm saying, just on the off-chance, the one in a million, that you and Malik DO end up, well... ah... You know, why should I have to be the prize?"

"I very, very much like where this is going." Marik popped into the conversation, purring smugly as he smirked at the kind twin whom cowered behind Malik.

Ryou looked at Malik for help, but he really couldn't say anything. It was fair after all, a bet is a bet. Once agreed upon you can't go back on it. He really could only raise his eyebrows at the twin, who then pouted.

Marik did not seem to like the silence, for the singer quickly walked forward and wrapped an arm around the frozen model's waist, and proceeded to tilt the cute man's face upwards. "Tell me, tell me little Ryou~ What is my prize? Is it lovely, like you?" The man said for all to hear, Bakura choked on the cuteness of it all, while Malik giggled, thinking that the two actually didn't look bad together. Ryou seemed to have come out of the daze, for immediately the twin pushed Marik away, scowling and crossing his arms.

"You can get someone else to give you a prize! I refuse to be a part of this." The albino huffed, while Marik did not seem to care much for the Egyptian simply smirked.

"Hmm... a kiss? Marik would very much like that~" The singer purred, and absent-mindedly he wondered if Ryou's stalker and Bakura's best friend was insane for talking in third person. It was definitely plausible!

"No way!"Ryou stated immediately, appearing horrified. Bakura and Malik rolled their eyes, for it really wouldn't have been a big deal, but Marik did not seem surprised in the slightest.

"A date?"

"I can't spend that much time with you, sorry."

"A fuck?"

"I just said no to a kiss, of course not!"

"A peck on the cheek?"

"You'd turn it into a kiss and you know it."

"A simple kiss on the hand then?"

"Who knows where your hands have been!"

The singer seemed to think for a long time, before finally looking up uncertainly. Bakura had obviously been just about to step in and convince Ryou to do one of the requested things when Marik spoke up. "Then all I ask, My Ryou..." The white haired man took on a guarded stance, his face untrusting. "Is that you smile at me." Everyone looked surprised, although it seemed to affect Ryou most of all.

The kind twin's cheeks tinted ever so slightly, immediately opening pink lips to protest, but then closed it upon realizing how cruel he'd sound if he refused. Malik watched in utter amusement as the man quickly turned around so he was no longer facing any of them, and as the kind twin crossed his arms. "I-I..." A gulp. "It's a stupid request, but I don't see why not." Ryou refused to look at any of them, but Malik could see the twin was embarrassed. Why? The boy had no reason to be. After all, the albino obviously disliked the other, but why this heavily? How confusing, celebrities really were quite odd.

Marik was staring with huge, delighted eyes that were hidden behind his mask. An insane, calm grin had spread across the singer, and fearing for his friend's well being, Malik stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Ryou's neck. "Come on RyRy! The paparazzi won't stay away for long, let's go back inside." The man blinked at him, while Malik grinned his bright smile at the famous model.

"But we just got..." Glancing back and seeing Marik and Bakura looking mischievous, the man nodded. "Sure, let's go." Quickly the two friends left the singer and twin, not daring to say goodbye. The mischievous friends that were left behind simply laughed, causing Ryou and Malik to walk faster. Once they got to the entrance the Egyptian shivered upon seeing the same woman and bouncer from before, and as if on instinct he glanced to the side for Bakura, but instead there was Ryou. Tensely he walked pass the two whom had given him trouble before, but found that this time they simply gave Ryou and him wary glances. Some of the turned down fans gave him nasty looks which he flinched away from, while others seemed intrigued; hell, a few were giving him gazes that he preferred not to linger on (that is, heated ones). Only a second after they had re-entered the grand room (which ended up being a pointless exhibition, for they'd only been out for a few minutes) they were bombarded with open arms and... big breasts?

"Ahh~! Malik, Ryou! It's my own party and it's so _boring_!" Mai whined, an arm around each of their necks. She was swaying slightly, and he wondering rather absentmindedly if she had been drinking. Ryou smiled uncertainly, appearing not used to being so close to the woman. "Honestly, do you think they'd noticed if I left?" Lulled the woman, as she all but dragged them over to a random table and plopped down in a seat. The two models followed her example and sat down in the expensive looking chairs.

"Hate to say it, but probably." The Egyptian said with a laugh, while Mai gave a pout that some males would probably call sexy. Ryou blinked, slightly confused at how the two got along, and it was then that Malik really looked at the man.

The albino stood out in so many ways, it was understandable why he always heard talk and chit chat about the celebrity. It was almost odd that Malik had never noticed it before. Ryou sat straight up, something you didn't see too much nowadays. His hair was combed back in a feminine fashion Malik noted, and he saw also that the man's mask was perfectly set in position, not leaning to one side or another. Hands were folded in the twins lap politely, and a soft barely noticeable but also sweet smile stood out on the other's pale face. A face that, Malik realized with pride, could capture the hearts of millions. How lucky was he, to have just happened to meet someone like Keith, and gotten to meet some of the most famous people in the country? Some people (mostly girls, he knew, but still) would die to just spend a day with the kind man. He grinned brightly, confusing his albino friend who smiled back.

"I have an idea!" Mai said, voice bouncing slightly as she held back a hiccup. Malik and Ryou looked at the woman, who was fanning herself. "Let's *hiccup* go to a club! Ditch this place!" Malik blinked. Wasn't this MAI'S party!? They couldn't just leave! Not to mention- did celebrities even do things like that? He was too young to get into clubs as it was, but of course he knew what they were. His friends back home when he'd first come to Japan had always been trying to get him to buy fake licenses with them, which he'd politely refused, always coming up with one excuse or another as to why he couldn't participate in such activities. Finally they'd gotten the message and left him out of such things, but he had always gotten the 'talk' that clubs and such were bad places from his sister Ishizu and brother Rishid.

Despite those convincing factors, the thought of going to a 'club' which he'd always avoided at all costs now, was slightly... alluring. Mischievous, even. He glanced over at Ryou, whom didn't seem to care one way or another, before nodding, excited. "Sure, why not!?" He said happily, then blinked, curious. "Who would be going with us? Marik, Bakura...?" He asked, saying the two people that came to his mind first. He sent an apologetic look towards Ryou when the twin flinched, and he made a mental note to ask the twin what annoyed him so much about the singer. Really, being famous seemed like hard work, it made him almost grateful that he was only a popular rumor among the celebrities and not actual fans. The paparazzi had given him curious stares (other than that one whom had caught Bakura and him fighting) but for the most part had avoided taking pictures of him.

He waited patiently for Mai to answer, and it was only when he saw an evil grin spread across her plump lips and a very bad glint sparkle in her eyes that he wondered if this was a good idea. "Oh... just a few people~"

**~*~*~*~**

Malik let out a long, pained groan as he squeezed his eyes shut, although it didn't do much. It must be past the afternoon by now for light was pouring in from somewhere and trying to murder him (he believed this very much). A pounding headache was helping that dreaded light, one which he'd never had before but had heard very, very much about. The type of headache that feels like someone is taking a hammer and pounding it to your head constantly, with a buzzing sound accompanying it. He pressed his knuckles to his aching temple, trying to knead away the pain. He blanched as it did nothing and bloodshot eyes shot open.

That's right, ladies and gentleman: Malik Ishtar had a hangover.

The Egyptian let out another, long moan and immediately shut his eyes, the light making him feel far worse than he already did. Is this why Ishizu and Rishid had always told him not to drink? Last night had been one of the best of his entire life, but he wasn't quite sure if it was worth it- feeling this horrible. Just thinking back to about 12 hours ago (for they'd gotten back to the hotel around 4:00am) was a wonderful blessing. Flashing lights entered his mind (which, all in all did NOT make him feel better but still brought a smile to his lips) and he remembered the loud pounding music, the close-pressed dancing bodies, and the craziness of it all. It had been overwhelming, even Ryou (although the albino had chosen to sit at a table for most of the time, talking to different people) had seemed to have had a good time. It was last night that he'd discovered how much fun dancing could be, and that he was- dare he say- very _very _good at it. He had been one of those people that could stand in the spotlight, dance, and NOT be embarrassed. He'd caught eyes of course, but he hadn't been thinking about that. Of course, Mai had first headed out to the store and bought them all new clothes, for she refused to let them go to a private club in anything but fancy, if not slightly scene, tight-fitting clothes. She'd even forced Malik and Ryou to let her do their make-up! Although, they'd already had a few drinks in the limo, so they hadn't been too against the idea.

Oh, and do you remember how Mai had said 'only a few people'? Well, Malik had known there and then that it would definitely not be only a few people. In fact, she'd brought at least 20, making the club more crowded than it already was. Even Kaiba and Keith had been there! Although they hadn't participated much in the dancing, he figured they were a little too uptight to do something like that. Oh and back to the dancing, that wonderful movement that matched the music. Malik had never been the type of person that very much enjoyed close physical contact unless it was with good friends, but last night had been different. Pressing bodies together had been the only way to go, and damn had it felt good. He wouldn't even be paying attention to who the person was, as long as they could move like him. Hands up in the air and moving to the beat, just thinking about it got him to shiver.

And then there had been _him__._

_That person_ and Malik had only started dancing towards the end of the night, when Malik was extremely far gone and on the edge of tripping, but still he didn't stop partying, That person... he could remember nothing else of that part of the night, except for that person. It had been wonderful, and for the first time had he experienced... lust.

**~*~*~*~**

_He gasped as a light turned and flashed directly in his eyes and almost fell backwards, but still he kept moving__.__ Stepping forward, to the side, backwards, every which direction__.__ Completely at random but they all loved it, and they adored him__.__ He was a star that they wouldn't stop staring at and he was laughing and smiling and _**drunk**_.__ It didn't matter though, he kept on dancing, his arms moving every which way in patterns that he did not arrange but seemed to amaze the people that watched him__.__ It was a euphoric feeling, and he felt light as he turned in random directions, eyes lazily and blearily sweeping over the crowds, not looking at anyone in particular__.__ It was then that he saw someone, something, a few rows of people away__.__ The person was stunning, an eye-catcher, but his sight was so blurry that was all he could process__.__ He knew the second he saw that person that he needed to move, get to the white__.__ For that was what he saw when looking at the person, a stunning and striking white that over-came him__._

_Almost naturally it seemed that the white had seen him to, and within seconds (although they'd been at least ten feet away, with a number of people in between them) they were next to each other, dancing together, pressing against each other, and _**touching**._ He didn't know anything about the other person, whether they were male, female, they might even be an alien__.__ But he definitely liked the white, and subconsciously he reached up, for the white was very very tall, and wrapped his arms around the person's neck__.__ The white was smart, and the white knew what Malik wanted for the person reached down as well, wrapping pale white arms around his waist and pulling him up, so his feet were not even touching the ground__.__ With little to no effort his legs wrapped around the other and he moved his hips, doing something that he'd only heard about but never understood__.__ He grinded the person in front of him, gasping and gritting his teeth and closing his eyes and _**everything**_.__ And the white did the same thing, and it was a blissful moment where they both needed nothing else__.__ And then there were teeth, not on his face but on his neck, and he made no move to stop them, for he'd known they were coming, and had wanted them to come__.__ He leaned forward, pressing his neck into that wonderful feeling of warmth, tongue and teeth__.__ His own tongue was licking his own lips and his eyes were closed in bliss__.__ He didn't notice the fact they'd long since left the dance floor, nor did he notice that he was now being pressed harshly into a wall__.__ If he had, he would not have cared, or maybe he would have and would have loved it__.__ Loved it like he loved this, this feeling, so strong__.__ Nothing mattered as long as those teeth were there, along with those hips and those hands and-__.__ He gasped as a tongue traveled along his collar bone, and when he opened his eyes it was there again, the white__.__ This person seemed to be full of it, and he wondered if they were wearing it but the moment quickly passed for that tongue was back, and it was doing things he'd never imagined__.__ It was so wonderful, blissful and lustful__.__ And it was all white__._

**~*~*~*~**

Malik rubbed his forehead, trying to remember everything that had happened in that wonderful moment, but his memory yielded no more. It seemed that when he tried to remember anything past that lustful white, his temple would scream at him. His stomach would turn, and his pants would-...

Grow tight.

He gulped, and as quickly as the thought had come it was gone, instead replaced by pain and he slowly opened his eyes again, about to move off the bed when instead he fell, landing harshly on the ground. Another groan, but finally he opened his bleary purple eyes and took in his surroundings, finding that it seemed he hadn't been able to make it to the bed, but instead had dumped himself onto the couch. The sudden movement did not bode well with the rest of him however, for he was quickly stumbling to stand up, and in a daze he tried to remember where the bathroom was, scampering around quickly.

_On the left, the left, the left left left__.__ Right next to Bakura's room__.__ Shit, don't think I'm going to make it__._

With hurried feet and hands he threw open the door, stumbling past a very pissed off Bakura and making his way to the toilet, standing there for a few minutes as he dry-heaved, for it seemed he had not eaten too much last night. He stood there, above the toilet for many minutes, feeling like he should be up-chucking the contents of his stomach but instead just heaving. Also known as, completely horrible.

Fuck, he was never ever drinking again.

When his stomach could heave no more he heard chuckling, and with a loud moan he sent a pitiful glare over at Bakura, before quickly looking away. "Fuck, your hairs too white. Hurts m' fucking eyes." He stated (more like growled, really) with a scowl, and he could sense his rival smirking. He didn't have to be looking at Bakura to know it; it was just a simple fact. When was that guy not fucking smirking?

"Hmm... First time drinking, neh?" Asked an amused Bakura, and Malik saw no point in lying for it was quite obvious. Tiredly he nodded, and the model snorted while the Egyptian rubbed his forehead pitifully, and Bakura started rustling around in a cabinet to which he grinded his teeth together, for it was too loud. Everything was amplified, much too amplified. Finally the rustling stopped and he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the celebrity holding something out at him. Slowly he reached his hand out and took a small white bottle, looking at it suspiciously, eyes barely processing the fact that the label on the side said 'aspirin'. As soon as they had however, he quickly threw off the lid and grabbed a pill, throwing it in his mouth and swallowing it dry. The other laughed but he simply stuck his tongue out, and then blinked suspiciously.

"Why are you being so nice to me...?" He asked uncertainly, voice hoarse (he very much longed for water), to which Bakura reached out and flicked his forehead, appearing annoyed.

"You'll see." Was the reply, which very much confused the Egyptian, but the albino had already turned around. "Now, shower. I refuse to be seen with the likes of you in such a state. Don't leave without me." Malik opened his mouth, about to ask 'where are we going?' but the man had already walked out and slammed shut the door. He glared at the entrance-way for a few seconds before turning his gaze towards the mirror and wincing. He really did look horrible, he was embarrassed to admit. His huge usually sparkling eyes were still beautiful, but very obviously bloodshot. His lips look chapped, and once again he was reminded for his throats need of water. His tan cheeks looked ever so flushed, and his lips were bruised. Even his clothes were crumpled and the hickey on his neck-

Holy SHIT.

His cheeks filled with color as his hand snapped up to the left side to cover it, and realized with dread that Bakura had been given the perfect view of it when Malik had been leaning over the toilet. And that bastard hadn't even said anything. A low growling sound came from his throat and angrily he started pulling off his clothes, coming up with nasty ways to murder, kill, maim, dissect, disfigure, mutilate, wound, injure, and hurt the famous celebrity. Although, in the back of his mind he wondered curiously if the only reason Bakura had been nice to him was because he'd been teasing him about the giant hicky on his neck (that had definitely been given to him by that wonderful, anonymous white stranger) or if there was something else. And with ferocity, he tried to push everything the albino said out of his head. Unfortunately, that was a mistake.

**~*~*~*~**

He glanced around uncertainly, for something odd was happening. After his shower, he'd decided he'd peacefully go and have some lunch (for, as it turned out, he'd slept in until 2:30pm) but... people were staring. And it was making him uncomfortable, where as last night he had basked in the looks he'd gotten. But today- today none of these people knew of the events of last night, so why did they stare? Was he wearing something odd? He looked down- no, it was completely normal. There couldn't be anything on his face, for he'd just showered, and he'd been very careful to wear a turtle-neck so the hicky was impossible to see. Yet still, when he walked through the room there would be hushed whispers and looks of curiosity.

By the time he had gotten to the buffet, he was taking very hurried steps, and he let out a sigh of relief once he entered the room... Only to look up and see (to his utter dismay) that there was a 'closed for the day' sign, hanging in front of the delicious looking food. With a groan he turned around hanging his head low as more people looked his way, and with a gulp he walked forward, leaning over the counter and nodding at a secretary, showing he wanted her attention. She looked up, almost appearing irritated before seeing him and gasping. He blinked when she blushed and stuttered something quickly under her breath that sounded like 'it's him!' before realizing she was very audible and going even redder.

"W-What may I do for you?" She asked nervously, and Malik felt like slamming his head into the wall. For one, because he still had a headache, and secondly (more importantly) because he very much wished to know what the hell was going on. He almost considered asking her about it, but then thought better of it. After all, she probably wouldn't tell him just out of sheer embarrassment.

"I was just wondering... Err..." He tried to ignore the hushed whispers, his eye twitched. "Is there any quick restaurants around here? Just to get a little snack? Like... star bucks?" He added the last part with a laugh, although she was so nervous that she did not join in on his amusement. She quickly took out a map and shoved it in his hands, to which he was slightly taken aback but he could tell she didn't have any ill intentions behind it... just... what the hell?

"That has a lot of nearby restaurants, but ahh... there is one just around the corner on the right and this may seem a little straight forward of me but you are Malik Ishtar right? Oh my, I heard you were staying here with the twins but I didn't know if it was true! Ever since I saw the Kaiba Corp magazine today I've been looking forward to seeing you and hearing more about well you know you and the twin! Oh, do you think I could have an autograph?" He stared at the woman whom had managed to say that all in one breath, trying to separate different sentences, wondering just what the hell she was talking about. After a few silent moments (for it seemed the hushed talking had seemed to stop) he slowly nodded, eyes wide and confused. He resisted the urge to take a step back when the woman squealed and pulled out a piece of paper, and he timidly took a pen.

_MalikIshtar_

Quickly he signed his name, before nodding and turning around (for he preferred not to hear her frantic and excited words of thanks), map in hand. His stomach growled hungrily and he frowned, for he was starving. Eagerly he approached the door, and opened it excitedly, not focusing on anything but the map. When he walked out, he looked up.

And all hell broke loose.

"How long have you and Bakura Touzokuou been in a relationship!?"

"Is it true that you first got together as a one night stand?"

"Would you call your relationship with Mr. Touzokuou more sexual or emotional?!"

"Do you two always fight, and if so is it only fake and secretly it's more playful than anything else?"

"How did you two meet?"

"Are you aware that it can be illegal for him to do anything to you at this age?"

His huge eyes were doubled in size and he gasped, eyes franticly searching around the cameras and microphones, for a kind face that wasn't information hungry. He was being hustled around, no idea in the slightest what these people were talking about and it was scaring the shit out of him! A small whimper escaped his throat as lavender eyes traveled around the circle of people that were bombarding him, and he couldn't understand what they were talking about. The pieces of words that he caught made no sense and did not fit together, confusing him to no end. The paparazzi was getting more enthusiastic (insane), pushing him harder for answers, until it came to the point where he knew he'd be falling over if not for the fact that he was so heavily surrounded. The pressure and tense air and just utter loudness of the situation was driving him crazy, and he closed his eyes for the noise seemed to be skyrocketing, getting louder and louder. He thought white but it barely helped, even though it did calm him. _White, white white white__.__ White__._

He yelled out the first name that came to his mind, for it was the name that the paparazzi were yelling at him, and it was the name that seemed to haunt him. _**"BAKURA!" **_

And just like that, the noise stopped. The people around him stared, but they were silent. It was silent and he was thankful, and his headache had stopped. It was all because of the arms that encircled him, and he reached up blindly, grabbing up onto his saviors shirt desperately and huddling closer, eyes still closed for fear of the moment that had happened less than moments ago. He recognized the scent, it was wild and almost spicy, and unknowingly a relieved smile spread over his face as he looked up into the threatening brown eyes of his rescuer.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" He asked weakly, slightly embarrassed at having this happen again, but unable to help but enjoy the havoc suddenly coming to an end. The man that held him was so protective, it was quite relieving. He had a safe aura around him, although Malik wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, for most people were scared shitless of the albino.

Bakura scowled, while the Egyptian flinched. "I thought I told you not to go outside without me?" He looked guilty as he remembered that the model had indeed said that, so he smiled sheepishly.

"Eheh, you know I never listen to you!"

"Maybe you should?"

"Pfft, why kill my self-esteem? If I started listening to you I'd start to believe that I was a slave, just like if you listened to me you'd think you were a stuffed animal."

"Touché."

**~*~*~*~**

"What do you mean the public think me and Bakura are in a relationship?!" Malik yelled, completely aghast, at Satan.

"It's _Bakura and I_, Ishtar." Kaiba stated coldly, to which Malik glared.

"That would only be if he was more important than me, which he's not." He retorted.

"I see. Well, to answer your previous question..." Kaiba took something out of his brief case, which, to Malik's surprise, appeared to be a magazine. "This is why they think you two are... romantically involved." He could only stare at the front page of a highly respected gossiping/teen/adult magazine, almost feeling numb. "Now you can understand why you two have created quite the hype, don't say I didn't warn you." He could hear the smirk in the other's voice, but it barely processed. His eyes were locked on the picture that he was seeing, and he weakly squeaked. Bakura didn't seem surprised, which meant he'd already seen it, although this did nothing to ease Malik's emotions.

On the front page of the 'Kaiba Corp.' magazine, was none other than Bakura and him. It was the picture that had been quite so surprisingly taken the night previous at Mai's masquerade party, if not slightly edited. Last night, if he remembered correctly, Bakura had pinned him against the wall, with Malik's hands being tightly held up by Bakura's above his head. The albino's leg was quite precariously placed in between his legs, and they were staring at each other quite intensely in one of their usual staring contests. Their positions were exactly the same, and they were still looking at each other, but the edits were there, nonetheless. One of these, for example, was adding quite a bit of heat to both their cheek areas, causing it to look like they were quite warm and flushed. Another was the fact that instead of lips set in a thin line out of anger, they were parted just barely noticeable, not so that it looked fake, but it made you want to look harder, to understand more of what was going on. However, the problem was that when looking harder, you noticed a very (VERY) odd thing; their pants. Malik felt his face go extremely pale as he saw that there was an obvious bulge in both of their pants, which he could swear on his life had definitely been without a doubt nonexistent the night previous.

"I think I'm going to be sick." He whined, and went to sit on the couch next to Ryou, slumping in absolute defeat. His best friend patted him on the back sympathetically, although he noted with annoyance that Ryou seemed more amused than anything else. With a sigh, he looked up, still glaring, at Kaiba. "Well you're rich; just tell them that it's not true. I don't understand why you'd even let that be published in the first place!" He stated angrily with a growl, and Bakura nodded in agreement. Kaiba leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together, an icy glare somehow managing to skewer them both.

"I'm afraid..." Malik held his breath, uncertain on whether he liked where this was going. "I can't do that." He opened his mouth, eyes wide with horror, about to ask the obvious 'why not!?' but Kaiba rose a hand, silencing him. "The consumer rate for this magazine went up by 3% since last week, Ishtar, Touzokuou. It appears that public _likes_ you as a couple (as disturbing as it is)." Malik and Bakura could only watch helplessly; after all, you just don't argue with Seto Kaiba. "In a few months, you two will have some sort of dramatic break-up, but as it is, I expect you two to go along with it." The numbness was back. "This means acting like a couple, doing things together like a couple, hanging out like a couple, and, in all senses of the word, being a couple." The Egyptian couldn't believe his ears, and by this point he had once again stood up. They seemed to have come to some sort of an agreement, because they were saying the same things at this point.

"Why does it have to be HIM?!" They both wailed, while Kaiba smirked, tapping the photo. Malik should his head while Bakura glowered, and then something occurred to him.

"We don't have to... ah... hold hands or do things like that- do we?" He asked, sounding pained and uncomfortable. Kaiba rolled his eyes, but the smirk held his answer.

"I told you, I want you two to be believable! I won't force the two of you to kiss and such, although it would be quite pleasing if you did. Any displays of public violence will result with you two in my office immediately." The dark look in the CEO's eyes had them both gulping.

They both stared, and the smirking Satan stared back, and there really was only one thing for Malik to say.

"You better raise my paycheck."

"In your dreams."

"Usually, yes. But today, it's more like my nightmares."

**~*~*~*~**

"_There's a light for every star  
you're more than who you think you are__.__"_

_-_RoseleafISHTAR (:D Thank you so so so much)

**~*~*~*~**

**Hurhurhurr****...**** This is all so random xDDD I mean i totally deleted like 4 pages and let my fingers do the typing and when I read it over I'm like *0* OHMAIIGOSH ! 3**

**I realized that calling people out is slightly rude****...**

**I'm gonna do it again ****.**

**Naww I'm just kidding ! Thank you guys so so so much :] I got so many reviews for the last chapter, you guys are the best****.**** Oh and THANK YOU ****Shantih**** for going through and reviewing every chapter****.**** xD I was like WOAH ! I LOVE THIS PERSON!**

**Hey guys? Don't think me stalker-ish, but do you people have facebooks? A lot of you reviewers have it set so I can't reply so if you want to add me look up 'Zozy Marik Ishtar' (yes, that's really what I'm on there as XD)**

**Tell me what you think, I was really really iffy about this chapter towards the beginning but now I love it ****.**

**God, kill me now****.**** I made Marik a sappy bastard XD**

**HEY! IT'S ROMANTIC! WHO DOESN'T LOVE ROMANTIC PEOPLE? :D**

**Someone give me a rose on V-Day and I shall marry you 8]**

**Date Completed: 1/24/09**

**Word Count: 7.268 (it went down from last time D; BUT HEY! IT'S 18 PAGES! THAT'S GOTTA COUNT FOR SOMETHING!!)**


	5. Amusement Park

**Only one person told me who my icon was ;_; CAN YOU SAY SQUALO!? Thank you** **xXShadowFiendXx**** !! **

**Beta: Loss****.****Of****.****SaniiTee (I looovee you 3)**

**Warning(s): There is a LOT of fluff in this chapter**

**P****.****S****.****: I was thinking about killing off Malik at the beginning of this story****.**** HAHAHA****.**** But I'd never EVER do that****.**** Ever****.**** :D I wouldn't even consider it****.**** But if you reviewed, it might make me even LESS likely to consider it****.**** Eheheh ;;****.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **_**All you people that LOVE ME AND THIS STORY!!! Go read my new story, Twins of Necretez !! It's a Malik centered AU about his adventures in a land filled with magical creatures such as gods, demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, fairy's, witches, wizards, centaurs, pretty much anything! And yes, to answer your question, **__**there WILL BE THIEFSHIPPING! XD **_

_**ANOTHER THING: **_**It's been about a week and a half since Malik joined the agency, I'm just skipping a lot :P So (just so everyone is clear) it's been about three days since the meeting with Kaiba****.**** :3 **

**Chapter Title: Amusement Park**

**~*~*~*~**

He sat on the bed in front of Ryou with wide eyes, leaning forward onto his arms, obviously quite stunned at what he'd just heard. So awestruck, it seemed, that he even had to repeat it."An amusement park!?" Malik asked with a gasp, excitement lacing through his eyes and voice. He was almost vibrating, and Ryou looked rather put off by his enthusiasm. But could you really blame him?! He'd never dreamt of going to an amusement park. Sure, he'd past by one or two a few times while wandering around the town when they'd first moved to Domino, but as it was he usually avoided them, for he'd never been one that liked to see the things he wasn't exactly lucky enough to have. But that didn't change the fact that thinking of them made him feel absolutely spectacular! Those high rides, like the roller coaster, and he'd heard his friends back home talking about things called water slides. Judging by the name, they were pretty fun.

"A-ah... Yes...? Kaiba wants the three of us to go somewhere together, to increase your publicity and also to reinstate the fact that Bakura and you are in a relationship." The whitenette let out a giggled after the last part of his sentence, which Malik chose to roll his eyes towards and ignore. His smile was wide and covered the majority of his face, and with quick moves he launched himself at the older man, tackling him in a bear hug.

"I've never been to an amusement park before! When are we going? Is it today? Are we going today, RyRy?" Malik asked all of this is one breath, although showed no sign of tiring, and opening his mouth to ask more hyper questions but the twin laughed, whacking him over in an amused gesture and thus silencing the now pouting blond.

"Yes, Malik, I wouldn't have woken you up so early if we weren't going today." Ryou stated with a happy giggle, to which Malik responded with a bright beam, that was only broken when a snort came from their right. He turned his face and glared at Ryou's horrible twin, before sticking his tongue out and purposefully hugging Ryou tightly, nuzzling his nose into Ryou's neck in a teasing fashion. The said albino simply laughed, wrapping pale arms around his torso in a somewhat struggle of a hug, for Malik wasn't making anything easy. When Bakura growled at both of them, they quickly separated and fell into a fit of morning giggles that usually only inhabited hormonal teenage girls, to which Bakura rolled his eyes (he tended to do that a lot).

"Okay girls, will you two get dressed already? It's going to be fuckin' crowded by the time we get there." Grumbled the disgusted model, to which the two 'girls' on the bed simply smiled more, but nonetheless began searching in Malik's closet, intent on finding the Egyptian something to wear (for it seemed Ryou was already dressed). When they both saw no sign of Bakura leaving, instead of him just leaning against the wall with an annoyed look, they truly got to 'work'.

"Oooh! It's a nice day out; maybe you should wear this blue tank top?"

"Oh but it would look _so_ much better on YOU RyRy-chan!"

"Aww~ You're just saying that Mali-chan!"

"No, no I really mean it RyRy-chan!"

"Well, if you insist, I suppose it would look rather fashionable on me...~"

"Oh yes, definitely! You'd look so much better than that other girl we saw in the magazine yesterday! We all know you can pull it off better than her, she was the ugliest bitch I've ever seen!"

"Oh my gosh, Mali-chan!! You're so bad, I can't believe you said that!"

"Yeah, but you were THINKING it!"

"I know, but you SAID it~~!"

"Hahaha~"

Bakura could only stare in horror, looking like he'd seen the face of the devil himself, before shaking his now whiter than usual face, and managing to squeak out in a petrified voice, "I'm going, I'm going!" And all but running out of the room. It took exactly five seconds for Ryou and Malik to fall to the floor in fits of laughter, seven seconds to begin crying from laughing too hard, and ten seconds for Bakura to poke his head back in, still looking quite fearful.

All in all, the morning started out quite interesting.

**~*~*~*~**

Bakura and Malik glared death at each other as the three of them awaited the slow descent of the fancy hotel elevators.

"I wanted to press the button, fluffy." The Egyptian growled, crossing his arms in quite the immature fashion, which made the called out twin snort in irritation, crossing his arms as well in a mocking way.

"Too bad, so sad, that you just weren't fast enough. Those little legs slowing you down?" Was the sneering reply, to which the shorter teen/man bristled, looking like quite the insulted cat.

Malik then huffed bravely as they passed another floor (signaled by the 'dink' sound the elevator made) and then brilliantly smiled as his eyes narrowed and he retorted quickly, "Hmm, maybe. But who will be shorter when old age finally catches up? I think I can make a guess, old man." They dropped another floor with another resounding 'dink', and Ryou looked grateful that it was only the three of them in the elevator. Bakura seemed extremely displeased, almost furious even, and just as he opened his mouth to spit out another reply, they dropped to the lobby, and the doors slid open. So there Bakura and Malik were, looking like they were ready to bite out each other's throats.

To say that the change was amazing would be an understatement.

In a matter of moments their mouths went from thin pressed lines to radiant and wonderful smiles, and their glaring eyes turned from angry hatred to a gentle and caring gaze, while their rigid forms seemed to ease down to normal postures. Casually Malik stepped forward out of the elevator, Bakura in tow, and almost as if they had some sort of mind link Bakura held out an arm one second and the next Malik had taken it, so they were hooked in quite the loving manner, and they walked through the lobby elegantly, catching the eye of every passerby, and leaving all of them stunned. The only think that didn't fit the perfect picture was the terrified looking Ryou in the background, who was gaping now, still in the elevator, appearing as though he might just be sick any moment now. Noticing that their friend and brother weren't with them, they both looked back over their shoulders with identical smiles of pure bliss on their faces, dazed over eyes caressing Ryou. "Are you coming, RyRy?" Malik asked in his happiest voice.

...

"I-I'll b-be there in j-just a second..." Was the whimpered reply from the obviously scarred feminine man.

It turned out that 'just a second' had turned into 'five minutes' for it took calm and patient coaxing to get the creeped out model away from the elevator (a.k.a., they had to pry him off) and to start walking towards the limo. Even then, Ryou lagged behind, giving his best friend and brother quite the reproachful looks.

Yet, no one could argue that it was the perfect image, almost one would call it 'the happy family' as if everything was meant to be. **(A/N: Insert happy faces and stars here) **

Calmly a chauffeur opened the car door for the three models, and they happily got into the black stretched out fancy car, the two smiles and one look of horror never fading. It was only when the door closed that true feelings came out.

"Hi lovely, Bakura, Malik!" Marik piped up in a pleasant voice, beaming at the three of them. He was for the most part ignored though, for Bakura and Malik were instead picking up from where they'd left off in the elevator, glaring hatefully at each other.

"I hate you." That was Malik.

"The hate you more." And THAT was Bakura.

"Hi Marik." Must I say who that was? Ryou, of course.

The singer looked rather put off; therefore he simply crossed his arms in a high and mighty fashion, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's wrong with them? Sheesh, I was just trying to be nice." Marik mumbled, and Ryou shook his head, actually not wanting to answer that question. Malik slumped in his seat, giving an exasperated sigh and falling to the side, laying in Ryou's lap in an _"I've given up!"_ manner.

"RyRyyy~! I can't do this!" Malik wailed, appearing to be physically pained. The albino that was currently being laid on only raised pale eyebrows, chuckling. "I'm not joking!" The Egyptian said, now sitting up after only laying down for a mere ten seconds. It appeared that he was throwing a temper tantrum in a small form, but he would do what he wanted! "Do you have any idea how painful it is, to have to pretend, to, to, to actually _like_ him!" He ground out, eyes wide and using animated hand gestures. Ryou giggled, Bakura nodded in agreement, while Marik burst out laughing.

"You're not pretending to _like_ him, my adorable little model. I do believe that you're pretending to **love **Baku-kun!" Marik said while wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, ignoring the glare he was getting from his best friend.

He was silent for a moment, before turning to his current 'boy friend' as the media was to believe, and stating bluntly, "Why are we bringing him along, Bakura?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

Marik seemed to be aghast, dramatically putting a tanned hand to his chest right in front of his heart as if pained, then letting a smirk that tended to make girls *go wild* and sticking out a fairly pink tongue. "At least Ryou loves me, I don't need you two!" He piped smugly, draping himself over a stricken but still disgusted model.

"M-meep!" Was all Ryou could say, while Bakura and Malik made no move to help their poor molested brother and friend, instead sticking out their own tongues and turning away.

Malik wasn't really in a 'horrible mood' from what had happened; in fact he was holding back a smile. Last night Bakura and he had plotted out everything, meaning how they would act in public. Of course he hadn't thought they'd be using such skills so soon, although nevertheless they'd come in handy. There must have been at least one hundred flashes going off just while they were in the lobby, not to mention walking out to the limo! It was actually quite fun when it came down to it, fooling almost everyone. It also gave him quite the comical feeling, for it was such a weird notion that Bakura and he could ever be friends; it was something definitely to smile about.

The way they'd figured it the night previous, the more attention they got from media and friends, the less time they'd have to spend as the 'happy couple' and they could quickly get to the 'dramatic break up' stage. They hadn't thought of how they'd manage that yet, they were still waiting to see the fruits of their efforts.

Riding in the limo with the three celebrities actually turned out to be a lot of fun, he was beginning to find out. He usually just listened in, although a lot of the times he'd bounce in with an occasional comment here and there (it usual involved agreeing with Marik and Ryou, or insulting Bakura) to which they'd all break into fits of laughter. He'd recently learned that Marik was 25, being older than both Ryou and Bakura by 4 years (and much to Malik's embarrassment, it meant he was his senior by 10 years) but such things didn't seem to affect any of them. Honestly it felt like he was back home, hanging out with friends that were his age. They all looked it, honestly! No one would guess them 1 year past 20, and in Malik's case... Well, most people told him that he looked his age, sadly.

Yes, being with the other three was probably the most fun thing he'd ever experienced, and when Marik started singing along to one of his own songs in a 'Bakura-imitation' Malik had been positive he'd die from laughter. Hell, even the mocked, over-grown hairball had been chuckling, saying something along the lines of _"If you sang like that at concerts, you'd have ten times your current number of fans"_ in quite the stuck-up tone. So when they drove into the parking lot of their destination, Malik would admit to actually feeling slightly disappointed, but upon seeing the sky-high towering rides such emotions were quickly discarded and replaced with anxious excitement. He didn't even wait for the chauffeur to open the door, instead swinging it open and jumping out, breathing in the warm air and feeling light on his feet, spinning around happily and waiting like a hyper puppy for Ryou to get out of the limo.

Once his best friend had, he quickly took the albino's pale hand and was dragging him towards the entrance of the amusement park, where it appeared they were selling white tickets and arm bands. That was wonderful, for he'd decided to wear white today, it would match his outfit! It seemed he'd rather taken a liking to the color lately, a very large liking. Of course he really couldn't figure out why, oh well! Food for thought, as Sherlock Holmes would say. **(A/N: ****...**** Best****.**** Movie****.**** Ever****.**** Can you say Bromance? ;D)**

In a matter of minutes of chatting enthusiastically with Ryou, they were at the front of the line (he'd always imagined the lines going slower... it was odd, almost as if when they walked up a large portion of the people cleared away, but he was definitely just imagining it) and Bakura was buying tickets. Of course, Bakura hadn't been happy about it and had argued with Marik, saying that he should but the tickets since he was the oldest so it was only fair, but Marik had whistled and ignored the statement innocently, much to Malik and Ryou's amusement.

Once he and the other three celebrities had ordered tickets, Malik was nearly bouncing up and down with anticipation, all but exploding with energy.

"Oh god, would you calm down? You're drawing more attention than ever." Bakura drawled out, to which Malik shook his head happily, teeth shining as he grinned widely, although he still hadn't forgotten 'why they were here' so without caring too much he reached out and grabbed Bakura's hand, raising his eyebrows to remind the other that it meant nothing. Nevertheless, the model looked surprised and disturbed for a few moments, before seeming to remember the deal and giving a miniscule nod, then gesturing around them. "Well, what ride would you like to go on?"

Malik then blinked owlishly, glancing around, realizing that all three of his companions were looking at him. He gulped uncertainly, feeling his cheeks tint ever so slightly, before giving an embarrassed reply. "W-well, I've never been on a ride before, so I don't really know what type of ones I like." Even though he'd expected a sneer from his competitor, in truth the albino didn't seem to care and simply shrugged.

"Whatever. What ride do you want to go on Ryou?" Bakura asked in a bored tone, and Malik wondered absentmindedly if Bakura didn't like rides, for he definitely didn't seem excited in the slightest. Not knowing why, this brought his own enthusiasm down in the slightest, but not too much. He didn't care if the uptight model didn't like rides! He was here to have fun and fluffy wouldn't be stopping him. With this thought in mind he turned to his best friend, who was eying the rides around them with interest.

Ryou clasped his hands happily in front of him, smiling a wide feminine grin, eyes closing. "I've always liked the scrambler!" The twin said happily, to which Marik looked pleased and Bakura looked disturbed.

"That's because you enjoyed ruining my fun by squishing me into the wall, you bastard." Malik's 'boyfriend' muttered, to which Ryou put on an innocent 'I'd never!' expression, and caused the two Egyptian's quite curious thoughts.

"Well, what are we waiting for? What Lovely wishes is my command, so the scrambler it is! You're riding with me~" Marik stated happily, pulling a protesting Ryou along to a ride, (that quite like its name, was leaving people very scrambled) with Bakura and Malik following in tow.

He looked at it, trying to be open-minded, yet still feeling slightly reproachful, as they waited for the worker to tell them they could now go on. It was an odd contraption made out of metal with colorful painting littering all the seats and the main part connecting them all. The said seats had a bar that could be lifted so people could sit down inside it, and from the looks of it only two people could fit inside each one. He frowned; well that was just great. Damn that Marik, calling dibs on Ryou! Shouldn't he be allowed to sit next to his best friend? Grr... Well, guess that left him stuck with Bakura, which might work out in the end if it meant they could get their couple image even more out there so that they could 'break-up' sooner. It seemed to be quite the busy day, because even with the power of celebrities standing sexily in line, it took five minutes for them to get to the front, and when the time finally did come, it turned out there was only one more carriage left so that only two of them could go on.

Ryou frowned, looking at Malik with furrowed eyebrows. "It's alright, Malik! We all can wait till next-"

"Malik, let's go." He blinked in surprise as his arm was harshly tugged forward and he went stumbling ahead of Marik and Ryou, and couldn't help but laugh and send an apologetic look towards Ryou, before catching his balance and walking quickly behind Bakura, feeling bad for not being able to ride with Ryou but nonetheless even more excited now. Like a true gentleman (note the sarcasm) Bakura opened the mini gate (whatever it's called) and allowed Malik to get in first. Happily he jumped in, eagerly waiting for his enemy to follow suit and for the ride to start. Truth be told, he hadn't even been watching the people on the ride, instead animatedly chatting with the others, so when the machine did begin he had to resist letting out a squeal of happiness, instead letting a delighted smile cover his features and his eyes close. However, when he felt the ride begin to get faster and faster, his eyes opened uneasily, and he noticed with a little oddness that he was beginning to slide across the small seats. Immediately Malik let out a squeak, amethyst eyes now wide. Quickly he grabbed onto the side of the seat/carriage, trying to stop gravity from pulling him in the opposite direction, but to no success for it appeared to be too late, and ever so slowly (fairly quickly, actually) he had lost his grip and slid down the remainder of the seat, colliding softly with his companion. He glared down at his weak arms, and then turned his gaze to an amused and chuckling Bakura. Soon however, as he was pushed further into his enemy, he was laughing as well, quite enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing over his skin and making his hair go wild.

They both had quite the enjoyable, and surprisingly honest, grins on their model faces, and they didn't even noticing the knowing look they were receiving from Marik, nor the surprised but amused one from Ryou. He felt light with happiness, and couldn't help but think it would be wonderful to come back here every day.

**~*~*~*~**

Bakura could only smile along with Malik, for once unable to find anything to complain about at the moment. Looking down at the teenager... it just increased his thoughts on how Malik appeared, no, was a star. He was almost stunned, looking down at that wonderful smile, and those bright, seemingly sparkling eyes. It still amazed him what a deep color purple they were, and with quite a bit of trouble he looked away, instead focusing his gaze on the boy's other features, like how small he was. The tanned boy's frame was tiny, but slim in that perfect way. His blond hair was blowing in every which direction, yet he couldn't find it within himself to dislike it, where he would usually find it annoying. It just looked... cute, and it shined on Malik. Not even the fact that Malik was pressed into him was bothersome, indeed he would enjoy bringing up his arms and encircling the Egyptian, but of course he wouldn't. After all, that would make them look like a couple-

_Holy fuck__.__ I think I actually might thank Kaiba later__._

And with that thought in mind, he brought pale arms up and tugged Malik closer, if possible, who didn't even seem to notice, and if he did just smiled brighter. He himself grinned, quite content with their current position, and resorted back to laughing; the honest type that comes out just when he's enjoying life, unlike the usual chuckles that came about only when he was laughing at someone else's misery. He couldn't explain the happy feeling it gave him to hold someone else in his arms, but there was one thing he was sure of: it wasn't because it was Malik. It had nothing to do with that. It was just because of being this close to someone, anyone else. Something he hadn't done in what felt like years.

It had nothing to do with Malik, because he strongly disliked Malik.

And as he pondered this, he felt his smile lose a bit of his edge, and as he glanced down at the oblivious brightly shining Egyptian he held tightly, he tried not to wonder if that was true.

**~*~*~*~**

All in all, the ride was over much too soon in Malik's opinion, but when it did end he was jumping off, eager to go on more. However he remembered that he still had to wait for their other two companions with a sigh, and headed for the exit, giving them both smiles. When Marik and Ryou saw how absolutely jumpy (in the most literal senses of the word, not the scary kind) Malik was, they both insisted that he go onto the next ride without them (Ryou being the kind-hearted person he was, and Marik wanting to get on said caring persons good side but actually not giving a damn). Nevertheless, it took little to no insistence on their part to make Malik nod happily and begin pulling Bakura in random directions.

"What ride are we going on next, Bakuu~?" Malik asked happily, nearly bouncing with energy. All of a sudden however, his companion stopped, giving him a harsh glare to which he 'm-meep'ed because of.

Bakura growled, crossing pale arms. "Don't call me that, it's annoying!" The white haired man growled angrily, but in a quiet voice, not wanting to attract any attention in case someone happened to catch onto their current conversation. After all, in actual relationships, pet names were only natural things to do, but being called 'Baku' by Malik was plain old disgusting (especially since Marik called him that as well) and he would not allow it. The Egyptian seemed to disagree with this statement, for he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't understand, why? Regular couples come up with nicknames for each other, so why can't I?" He asked, sounding slightly irritated, to which it was fairly obvious that Bakura was resisting biting back 'well we aren't a regular couple!' towards.

"Because it's disgusting," Bakura retorted, brownish reddish eyes narrowed slightly, "not to mention that's what..." the man shuddered, "Marik calls me!" There was silence while they glared at each other, until finally the elder sighed, pouting ever so slightly and deciding to take the mature course of action for once. "You can call me anything else, as long as it's not ridiculous and humiliating." Malik opened his mouth, but Bakura quickly spoke up. "Yes, fluffy counts as both ridiculous AND humiliating."

This caused Malik to laugh happily, winking and beginning to pull Bakura along once again. "Well, then I'll just call you Kura', if that's alright with you, fluffy." The man twitched at the last word, but didn't say anything as to show his approval. Malik's smile grew in size, quickly but softly attaching himself to Bakura (to which they both held back grimaces) and looking around, then blinking as it seemed they'd stopped in front of a... house? And what odd decorations it had, almost as if it was designed for Halloween!

"Hey, why is there a house-" but he didn't finish his sentence for he was cut off by a terrified scream from inside the building, to which he squeaked loudly and with wide eyes jumped behind Bakura, not understanding why the people around them didn't look surprised and were chatting normally. "They- she- someone, someone screamed!" Malik finally managed to gasp out, eyes frantic and then becoming quite angry when he saw his companion didn't seem worried in the slightest, instead just quite amused. "It's not funny! Someone could be hurt! Shouldn't we be going inside to check it out?!" He fumed, to which the whitenette smirked rolled brown/red eyes.

"It's a Fun House, or as most would call it, a 'Haunted' House..." The man trailed off, seeming to be thinking about something while Malik fidgeted and twirled his hair nervously, giving the dark Halloween grey house uneasy glances. It appeared that his enemy/fake-boyfriend/companion/friend had come to a decision however, for all of a sudden a smirk had spread across the man's features. A smirk that he definitely didn't like the look of.

"Come on, Malik. We're going in." With wide eyes he began spouting words of protest and objection, but it was to no success for the other man continued to tug on his arm harshly towards the small line waiting to enter. Once in line, he silently fumed, looking for escape routes, but sighing when Bakura (for the elder man had sensed his thoughts) wrapped an arm around his waist, cutting off all means he had to make a desperate leave. From outside he could hear the occasional screams, which sent shivers down his spine, but for the most part nothing else was audible. Warily he didn't let his eyes leave the haunted house, and was so distracted by studying it's outer appearance (that of grey wood that was peeling in a creepy fashion, nails sticking out in random directions, a roof that didn't look very well put on, and jet black windows) he didn't even notice once they were at the front of the line. Looking into the windows made him feel cold, and his heart beat sped up till it was pounding in his ears.

"Your ticket or wrist band, sir." Malik let out a muffled gasp as a voice sounded a mere inch away from his ear, eyes wide and jumping away from the scary grinning worker, paralyzed slightly in fear before taking a deep breath, sending a glare towards a cackling Bakura, and holding up his wrist. The man nodded, and as they both started to walk forward the worker shook a pale head, holding hands out in front of them. "I'm afraid that you must go in one at a time." This caused Malik to nearly vibrate in fear, gnawing on his lower lip but nodding.

"Y-you heard him, Kura'. You go in first!" The Egyptian ordered, voice slightly more high pitched than usual, causing his companion to snort.

"Nah, ladies first." Bakura stated with blazing eyes, doing a mocking bow and stepping back.

This panicked Malik, for he shook his head frantically. "Come on Bakura, that's not even funny!" In such a time if fear, he didn't even bother to employ the other's nick name.

"You're holding up the line, sir." The frightening man that stood by the line said dully, to which Malik took a deep breath, eyes begging a seemingly uncaring Bakura. Finally giving up, he gave his now decided enemy his deadliest glare yet, and trying to rid himself of fear, he plunged into the darkness of the door, eyes closing fearfully, afraid to open them...

_Come on Malik, you're being stupid__.__ It's just a ride, now open your eyes__..._

These thoughts comforted him, if just slightly, and taking in a deep breath he prepared himself for the worst, slowly slitting open lilac orbs... And to his surprise, nothing bad awaited him. Although, it did confused the poor Egyptian, for it appeared that there was a copious amount of... mirrors? Now more curious than anything else, the teen began traveling through the small maze, letting out a yelp when he'd run into a wall/mirror every once in a while. His frown had soon turned into a delighted smile as he stuck his arms out in front of him, slowly making his way through the confusing yet fun haunted house.

It was only when he finally walked through a regular door that he hesitated, finding that he was now plunged into darkness, the only light being the small amount that came in from behind him and that which was at the end of some long thin and pitch black hallway, from what he could tell. He could see almost nothing, and the dark and him had **never** gotten along (meaning he'd always been deathly afraid of it) which was quite odd, since he'd grown up in it. Carefully he attempted not to trip over his feet, uneasily making his way through the pathway, but soon stopping, attempting to calm himself down as fear gripped tightly at him. There were so many shadows, he felt as if people were all around him. After a few come breaths, he slowly took another step.

_Step__._

He was trembling now, frozen in place as he tried not to let himself believe that he'd actually heard something, for he knew he'd been imagining it.

_You're all alone, there's no one here__.__ It's just you__._

The thoughts did nothing for him, and all he wanted to do was get to the light. So with all the willpower he had, he hesitantly slowly lifted up his foot and took another dreadful step.

_Step__._

He felt his heart pound in his ears, his face pale as he forced himself not to turn around, now unable to move. He wanted to whip around, catch whoever was there even though he knew he was just imagining it. But he'd HEARD something! He was positive, but he felt himself come to near tears as he thought that he could hear breath from behind him, although he was positive that it must just be his one heavy intakes. He was so close; he was almost in the light, just a few more steps!

_Step__._

Childishly he closed his eyes, frozen on the spot and trying to remain silent, stuck under the immature notion of 'if I don't make any sound, the monster won't find me', but finding that right now he'd give anything for this fear to be taken away. And there was that breath again, he could almost feel it against his neck, getting closer and closer, till it was in his ear. He couldn't be imagining this, yet he knew it must be a hallucination. Nothing made sense, and all he could do was remain frozen on that spot, lips parted and dry with an anxious feeling taking over his blind with terror senses.

"Boo." The voice was quiet, calm and collected, but it was all it took to push him over the edge. Not one second after it had sounded he let out an ear-piercing fearful scream, on the ground and wrapping his arms around his knee's in fright, rocking back and forth as he tried to calm his fast-beating heart, tears slipping over his squeezed shut eyes, and he heard his horrible, mean, jerkish, terrible companion let out a tired but amused sigh. When he felt to arms slip around his shoulders in a comforting gesture, the shaking didn't stop, but relief flooded over him because he knew who it was, and even if he "hated" the said individual, right now anyone he knew that was holding him was wonderful.

Quick as a flash he had turned around, face buried in the others shirt and wetting it, shaking like a small child, arms hanging loosely about the other's torso. "Y-you're so m-mean..." He said with a gasp, unbelievably humiliated, although feeling slightly happy about the fact that he'd only shed a few tears despite how terrified he'd been (fucking hated this guy).

"You're squishing me, asshole." The white spiky haired man grumbled, although there was no real malice behind it. Malik smiled against the others shirt, now too embarrassed to look up.

There was silence, then...

"Fuck you."

And Bakura simply cackled, managing to reply through laughs, "The feeling is mutual!"

**~*~*~*~ **

By the time they'd gotten out of the 'Fun/Haunted' house, Malik looked almost as pale as Bakura and was shaking, having been scared a countless number of times, each time he would jump about 3 feet in the air, while his enemy would laugh his ass off. However, a small miniscule smile could still be seen on the tan lips if you squinted hard enough, much to Bakura's pleasure (although Malik did not know this).

After that they'd met back up with Mariku and Ryou, and wandered around for a bit. When Malik had stared at cotton candy as if it were an alien and then been questioned about it, the Egyptian had admitted to never having it therefore they'd all taken a small break and bought some, and then they'd gone on some more heart-stopping yet still wonderful rides, these being: The Merry-Go-Round, Roller Coasters, gigantic Water Slides, Tower of Terror, Teacups (that had only been Malik and Ryou, for the other two had refused to go on things that were 'so childish'), and any other crazy rides they'd been able to find. As it was, the day was almost over and the park was nearing closing time – that being midnight, meaning that Malik and Ryou were yawning sleepily while Marik and Bakura were their normal selves.

"I think we only have time for one more ride, Malik." Ryou said gently, happily holding hands with The Egyptian and best friend. Malik frowned, sighing in a disappointed fashion, but then looking up and smiling happily.

"That's alright! I had a great time, and we can always come again some other time, right Ryou?" He batted his eyelashes in what he hoped to be a tempting fashion, and his pale friend giggled.

"Of course! Now, since it's the last ride and it's your first time, why don't you choose?" Ryou asked sleepily, rubbing at an eye with a small free hand, while Malik 'hmm'-ed, and looked around the park for a ride they were yet to have gone on. The perfect end of the night then occurred to him, and he let out one of his most brilliant smiles, violet eyes wide and now excited with renewed energy, no longer tired. "Let's go on that one, RyRy!" He said happily, pointing proudly to the tall ride he had in mind, not knowing its name.

The three all blinked, following the Egyptian's outstretched arm and turning to see the lit up spinning ride. "The Ferris Wheel?" Ryou questioned, and the two standing behind the more feminine men opened their mouths to complain, but were quickly silenced by a firm stare from Ryou. Malik nodded excitedly, and the four of them headed over in bouncing (well, for Malik's anyways) steps, quite excited. Now that it was so late most people had gone home, therefore they didn't have to worry about long waits in line. It was all for the better, because the youngest of the group was impatiently shifting from side to side and up and down until they'd made their way to the front of the line.

Quite soon after that they'd been seated on one of the hanging booths, and even sooner the thing had began to move, and three of the occupants in the chair could only watch in amusement as the fourth pressed his face against the glass, staring with wide eyes as they began to raise over the water (for the Ferris Wheel was indeed majestically built and placed on top of a lake, and you had to walk out on a dock to get on it) and a small smile began to spread as he tugged Ryou's sleeve, pointing out "how high we are!" in Malik's words. They raised and then they'd stop, and after a few minutes they would once again raise. Once they were at the top it stopped once again, giving them the perfect view over the whole lake, and no one in the carriage spoke, nor did any of them doubt that this was one of the most beautiful sights there was to see at the park. With sparkling eyes, our main character was amazed as he stared out over the beautiful waters, a beautiful smile painting Malik's small face. Subconsciously he reached out a tanned hand, gently taking his new best friends, and he could sense Ryou smiling as they both stared out and let out small giggles, and when they began moving again, both men locked eyes and yawned.

"Today was teh' best." Malik sleepily told them all.

No one argued.

**~*~*~*~**

_You are a shooting star in the midnight sky__.__  
The glimmer of the whole sky, but only for a moment__.___

You dream, you think, you wait for the right time, then you,  
a single star go into the night sky for the world to see_.___

As you travel across the sky, you leave the hint of your presence behind_.__  
You are the shooting star in the eye of the world__._

**~*~*~*~**

**Well****...**** I think that was a good way to end of the chapter (: I just wanted to show that Malik and Ryou are really close friends, I'm not going to just tell you that =/ I want to show growing relationships, not just of the romantic type****.**

**Next chappie we have Marik and Malik bonding time :3**

**You'll understand why our dear little lovely Malik must touch the hearts of all, in the end x3 NOT EVEN MY BETA Loss****.****Of****.****SaNiiTee knows what I have planned! BAHAHAHA****.**

**If 'For Your Entertainment' by Adam Lambert isn't Yaoi put into music I will never update this fanfiction again xD**

**Review? Mhmmm Yeah I thought so babeh ****.**

**Date Completed: 2/11/10**

**Word Count: 6****.****726**

**P****.****S****.**** EVERYONE REVIEW THEN GO READ MY OTHER STORY RIGHT NOW AND REVIEW IT! 8D**


	6. Dear Angel

**Okay guys****.**** Review this chapter with long reviews, because I have a surprise in store for one lucky reviewer!**

I got accepted into Oxbridge!!!!! *partys xD*I'm 13 years old so it's a big deal 8D

Disclaimer: And no, I don't own the All-American Rejects. I just like their music and what they say at concerts.

_**And so**__**...**__** the reason behind Ryou's hate for Marik is finally revealed**__**...**__** (:**_

_**19 pages into this chapter**__**.**___

_**XD**_

_**Beta: Loss**__**.**__**Of**__**.**__**SaNiTee How I love you**__**.**__** You make my life and without you I would die D; I love you more than time itself**__**.**__** And I also love the way I can control you with complimenting how Kaiba-like you are**__**.**__** It makes my day, it really does**__**.**__** xD**_

**~*~*~*~**

It had been a lazy day, for the three models. It had been a lazy, boring, tired day. And as Malik stared at the white ceiling, he let out an exasperated sigh, because he couldn't take it anymore.

"Come on guys! Tell meee!" Malik plead as he jumped up, eyes all but begging the two albino's whom still boredly sat on Ryou's bed. Bakura snorted, while Ryou giggled. Each sound made by the twins translated into English as a sound and firm 'No.' "But that's not fair!" He whined, nearly throwing a hissy fit. Boredom did not suit Malik Ishtar. Laughter, fun, and excitement fit the said Egyptian, which is the exact reason he was being driven out of his mind by the two currently secretive older men. The amethyst eyed boy pouted, turning his back on both of them as he stubbornly sat down on the ground.

"I'm not talking to either of you." Malik announced, glaring forward at a now cowering wall.

At this, Ryou plopped off the bed and onto his hands and knees, blowing in Malik's ear as he got closer.

The Egyptian's hair stood on end and he resisted the urge to 'EEP!' at the cold air on his lobe, still sitting stock-still and refusing to look at the good twin.

The opposite evil twin then copied Ryou's motion, except going the opposite direction to Malik's other side, doing the same as his brother and letting a small gust of breath glimmer against Malik's ear.

The only thing that stopped him from squealing at this was the fact that his rather helpful lip was currently being bitten to death. Being surrounded by the two ghosts was quite scary, after all! No one could ever predict what the two of them were planning. Almost in unison the men began to drift their bodies even closer to his, and Malik tried to in turn scoot forward and then backwards, but sadly both seemed to be lost causes since by now the men had taken a firm grip on both of his arms.

Two pale bodies pressed against one tan one, and as he opened his mouth to yell for help, he felt warm breath once again on both of his ears.

_Bite__._

He nearly jumped when he felt two sets of teeth nibble on either one of his ears, and it was at this moment that the door opened.

...

"Oooh. Threesome? Can Marik join~?"

The three on the floor burst into laughter, while the standing Egyptian simply blinked, wondering if the three models had thought the singer to be joking.

Marik pouted, having been serious, but let out a low chuckle as well. "Well, I'd appreciate it Bakura, if you kept your hands off my Little Ryou. I can get quite possessive!" The laughter increased even more, much to the slightly mystified Egyptian's amusement, although it died down after Marik began throwing pillows at them to force them into quiet. "Thank you for your attention," Marik drawled, eyebrows now risen from the oddness of it all, "but honestly, are you three ready to go? They get mad when I'm late." This caused Malik to gasp and sit bolt upright.

"Where are we going, Marik?!" He questioned enthusiastically, staring up at Marik like an obedient puppy due to the sheer boredomof before.

Now, he had to admit. When they wanted to be, even Ryou could be quick! In a mere few seconds they'd jumped from the ground and tackled Marik, both of them pinning hands on top of the Egyptian's mouth.

Malik moaned, realizing that he still would have to wait for whatever the twins were hiding from him. He grinned when Ryou squeaked, cuddling a pale hand close to the albino's chest. The Egyptian could only guess that Marik's devilish tongue had made quick work of Ryou's determination, although Bakura (with a disgusted face) still held his ground.

And then something happened, that Malik swore would change his life forever.

Bakura giggled.

And it wasn't just giggling, he was going red in the face, and beginning to thrash.

And then it 'clicked'.

Marik was tickling Bakura.

Malik stared, and then an evil grin spread across his face. "Ticklish, neh?"

At his devilish words, the Egyptian could tell his fake boyfriend was trying hard to stop the endless fit of laughter, but failing. Marik smirked. "Surprising, isn't it? I've loved to abuse his weakness ever since I found it out! Now come on Malik; join me!" He didn't need to be told twice! With little to no regret he jumped up onto the bed and leaned in, snickering happily as he began to tickle the whitenette to no end. Ryou could be heard giggling in the background, and after a few minutes Marik and Malik were forced to stop, because they too were laughing. Although, they hadn't been tickled, no, they were in fits of chuckles/giggles because it seemed the usually self-respecting model (Bakura) had begun to beg and plea for mercy, much to their amusement.

It appeared that now had been the wrong time to stop their attack, because their victim was quickly recovering, and with a battle cry Bakura threw hard, hurtful pillows at both of them, and then picked up a very conveniently placed Ryou and threw the poor boy at them as well. By the time Malik and Marik's prey had stopped his crusade, there wasn't a person in the room that wasn't heaving and clinging to their side in a rather pained manner.

With a huge intake of breath, Malik managed to sit up, happy to see that Bakura and Ryou were still sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily. Very inconspicuously he crawled over to Marik, voice in a hushed tone. "So, can you tell me where we're going now?" The rustling from behind him signaled that the twins were trying to crawl towards them, and therefore prolong his curiosity even more, but Marik was quicker.

"Of course! It's nothing special; we're just going to one of my concerts. I'd prefer not to go-" Malik gasped, eyes wide and excited, quite similar to that of how they were upon the announcement of their departure for the Amusement Park.

"Really? You're going to sing?! At a concert? I've never been to a concert before! And it's even better because it's your concert, and when is it? And where is it? And how many people are coming? And, and, and..."

Marik began to laugh, obviously amused by his excited rambling. The teenage boy pouted, although the expression did nothing to hide his enthusiasm and curiosity. "First; calm down." The pop singer instructed, to which Malik nodded, acting as an obedient puppy. Ryou and Bakura had long given up, seemingly talking amongst themselves behind the two Egyptian's, still lazily occupying the ground next to the bed. "Next; yes, I'm going to sing, and yes, it is a concert. You've never been to a concert before? You're sweet, Malik. It's tonight, at my home concert house, and about 6,000 people are coming." Marik answered every part of Malik's random ramble quite carefully, being sure to not leaving anything out or miss any of his questions. Once that was done, the man spoke up a little louder, making sure the twins were listening. "Considering you've never been to a concert before, Malik, I give you permission to listen and watch from back stage in my private booth where only my private guests are allowed."

He smiled widely, feeling honored that Marik would offer such a thing. Truth be told, he found them to be friends, but it was still surprising that the singer would be willing to do that. The Egyptian boy felt his heart warm, trying to convey his feelings with a happy laugh. One of the twins behind him didn't seem to share his happiness though.

"What? No way, that's where Ryou and I usually sit. You know I hate sharing!" Bakura growled angrily, to which Ryou tried to hit him over the head and attempted to shush the complaining man (to no avail).

Marik was grinning, seemingly entertained. "Don't worry, you won't have to share." The Egyptian explained, to which Malik blinked, confused. Was he being kicked out? "You two get to stand in the crowd with the rest of my fans!"

The singer laughed as the twins began to protest, while he blinked, not sure if he wanted to be alone back stage. It wasn't like Ryou deserved to be kicked out! Bakura on the other hand... Well, maybe Malik would just keep quiet. Some sacrifices had to be made! He snickered at the thought, which sent an angry Bakura pivoting around on heel, glaring angrily.

The white haired man snarled. "What are you laughing about, pipsqueak?" Bakura demanded, and he quickly shut his mouth, no longer laughing.

"Err... nothing. Eheh." He smirked, to the elder man's annoyance, and Marik patted him on the back proudly.

He smiled up at the other Egyptian, who was just now looking at his phone. "Fuck!" The man swore, scowling. "It's already 4:45 and I'm supposed to be there... now! Ahh, my manager is going to yell at me. Thanks for making me late, Bakura." Everyone laughed as the blamed man fumed, demanding to know why he was the one being reprimanded (it goes without saying, no one bothered to answer Bakura).

"Is Atemu still working as your manager?" The unusually silent Ryou asked suddenly, smiling lightly. Malik blinked, having never heard the name before.

Marik grinned happily, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, even if the prick is annoying, he is the best." The singer said in a happy voice, appearing overjoyed since Ryou... well, as you may have noticed, Ryou tended not to speak to the Egyptian.

"He never fails to seem like he has a stick stuck up his ass though." Bakura stated bluntly, yawning boredly, apparently not caring about the current conversation. Marik laughed in agreement while the two more innocent men in the room shared reserved glances of 'this guy never quits'. The four began to exit the room, all dressed and ready to leave, although the conversation continued.

Ryou was hesitating, before tugging on Marik's sleeve, whom seemed to be on cloud nine at the fact that the albino was being polite to him for the day. "Yes, my lovely? What is it?" Marik asked in a dreamy tone.

...

Silence.

Ryou turned to Bakura. "Hey, isn't Akefia-nii doing the lighting and staging for your friend's concert tonight?" The opposite twin nodded, not answering verbally, probably still pouting because of the announcement of Malik getting special treatment while the twins were forced to watch the concert like normal people (the horror).

Malik was even more confused as a second name was added, and decided to question his best friend about it.

"Akefia and Atemu? Oh..." Ryou paused, considering how to explain things for a moment. "Well, Akefia is our cousin, and he's also the one that got Bakura and I into the agency. He's close friends with Kaiba." Malik nodded, signaling the whitenette to go on. "And Atemu is Marik's manager; he does all the advertising and organizes his schedule, just like Keith and Kaiba do for us. You'll like them both! They're super nice, in fact the only people Atemu and Akefia tend to act immature towards are..." Everyone paused for a second, and then only Marik spoke, sounding amused.

"Well, shit. This should be interesting."

**~*~*~*~**

At first when there pace had quickened, Malik had been confused. His companions had seemed slightly... eager? After saying something about the two people (with names that he found quite impossible to remember, something like... Akeefifi and Adamu, he wasn't positive though), that had been there expression (one of eagerness). But now, as they watched from in front of the stage (while some techs worked on things around them) two Egyptian-looking people fight furiously, he had a feeling this was the reason why.

"I don't care if the lighting is perfect or if the chords show! If the audience can't see him, thief, then it doesn't matter if the chords are visible! THE AUDIENCE WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE HIM!"

"I'm not a thief! I didn't know it was your fucking jacket, I thought it was Ryou's! And if he stands there the audience will be able to see every single cable, which includes both the audio and the lighting ones! It would make him much too bright and people would have to squint! If we unplug the wires, guess what, the light and audio goes out!"

"Well, if he stands where you want him to, THIEF, where will the rest of the band be?! I suppose you just want Marik to lip sing!"

"Listen up porcupine, for the last time I'm _not a thief_! And the band can stand somewhere to the right, no one will be looking at them anyhow, so it doesn't matter."

"It DOES matter, idiot! And what did you just call me? Everyone is jealous of my hair! I've been asked to model, you oaf!"

"By what company, the one that tests make-up products on animals? That's all your good for, because you obviously suck at being Marik's manager!"

"I'm the best in the business. The only reason your even **here** is because you have connections with Kaiba, we all know you don't have any actual talent, thief!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, _**I'm not a thief!**_"

The four watched the scene with mild interest, until finally Marik and Bakura bursts into fits of cruel hysterical laughter, pointing at the two Egyptian's. Ryou was giggling as well, and only he, Malik seemed slightly disturbed by what he was watching.

"A-ahh... Excuse me you two?" He asked nervously, knowing that it would probably benefit Marik if they came to an agreement (and soon).

"_**What!?"**_

Both faces turned towards him, and he took in their odd features before replying to their harsh comment. The one who had been claiming to not be a thief had short, white hair like Bakura and Ryou (obviously a family trait, Malik could assume this man was the Akeefifi person), and tanned skin, like Marik and his. A scar ran down his cheek on his right eye, and his eyes were a shade darker of purple than Malik's. He wore professional but still casual clothes; black business pants and a checkered, lose top that had a few buttons undone towards the top.

The other one, whom Malik assumed was Marik's manager (also called Adamu, in Malik thought), had an even weirder outer appearance. The man had tri-colored hair (and if that weren't an oddity in itself) which fell in random spikes, centering on a handsome face. The colors that consisted in the hair were black, yellow, and blue. Red eyes like rubies could just be seen from under the man's hair. Strangely, he wouldn't have guessed Adamu to be any older than himself, although he must have been to work as a manager.

_**(A/N: TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE PURPLE EYES**__**.**__** So Atemu now has red ones**__**.**__** Because it's sexy**__**.**__** xD)**_

Malik flinched after a moment, there harsh word said in unison creeping him out slightly, although he managed to get over it. Hesitantly Malik walked over to the stage and climbing onto it over a waist length fence meant to keep crazy fans out, eying it curiously. The problem which the two were arguing over was quite silly, and had numerous solutions. With a collected voice, he tried to make the two see sense. "Why not just place Marik... here?" Malik gestured to the area in between the two headlights, but still not quite center stage, and wires traveled to the left and right of the immediate area, but considering the lights would only be focused on Marik and the band members, the cords would be invisible. "And the band members can go..." The Egyptian grinned, gesturing the left stage, "around here? And the drummer can go right here, since he'll take up the most space." Malik then proceeded to walk over to the right part of the stage, gesturing to where the drummer would play.

Both men looked at him stupidly for a few moments, eyes slightly annoyed at being interrupted. Neither of them seemed to want to answer, before they both sighed in some sort of strange agreement.

"That just might work." Akeefifi stated, nodding in approval. "It doesn't look half bad either; you have a good eye, kid."

Adamu didn't make a sound, appearing irritated even more so now. "I hate to admit it – believe me I really, really do – but I have to agree with the thief on this one."

Malik smiled brightly, happy that the two were agreeing (for now), and proceeded to jump down from the stage, walking over to his two new acquaintances. "Thanks! I'm Malik Ishtar." He stated politely, holding out his hand for either of them to take.

He was almost positive he saw Adamu start to reach out for the said hand, but he was quickly knocked out of the way as Akeefifi wrapped an arm around his neck, hugging him from the side in an overly friendly way while saying, "Ooh! I recognize you from Seto's magazines! You're my cousin's boy toy, right?" Malik blinked, feeling his cheeks warm even though he fought against the forming blush quite hard. "I'm Akefia Touzokuou! I'm pleased to meet you, Malik." Learning that he'd been saying (or rather, thinking) the other's name wrong for an hour or so did nothing to help his blush, and he was now afraid on whether or not he'd gotten Adamu's name right. For some strange reason, he figured he hadn't.

"Heh, I am too-"

"I mean, when I saw you in all those magazines and the reporters were spouting off about how good looking you were, I didn't believe them! But up close, man, you really are eye candy. By the way, that dickweed over there is Atemu, but feel free to call him whatever you want, and oh, are you alright? Your face keeps getting redder and redder... Huh, Bakura, I think your boyfriend likes me! Better watch out, he's pretty cute, I might steal him from you!" Malik was starting to think that Akefia was a huge chatter box. In fact, he was sure that the man would have gone on if Malik hadn't been wrenched away from him by... Atemu?

The tricolored male seemed to be annoyed about something, but the reason why, Malik couldn't warrant a guess. If he hadn't known better, he would have said that the red eye man was jealous, except that was quite ridiculous, he knew. "I'm sorry about him, Malik. He is like that with everyone, which is why he doesn't have any friends." Atemu sent a glare in Akefia's direction, before going on, "But, if you'll excuse him for a moment, I am Atemu. I too recognize you from the magazines, although not only as Bakura's... 'boy toy', but also as a rising model." Atemu smiled, obviously thinking quite highly of himself. There was a snort from their side.

"Stop bothering Malik, Mr. Royal ass. He's only been here for five minutes and I can already tell he likes me better. I wonder why!" Akefia tugged on his arm harshly, pulling him away from Atemu, who, as it turned out, didn't seem to want to let go of his other arm.

Malik knew this, because Marik's manager was clutching onto his left arm tightly while Bakura's cousin pulled his right. "Akefia, I believe you are mistaken. Only a fool would enjoy your presence, thief! Now I think Malik would appreciate it if you let go of his arm!" The harsh voice came out as a growl, and he felt a sharp tug pull him back over to the tricolored haired man.

"Why don't you!?" Akefia snarled, once again (as you may be able to guess) pulling him back.

"I don't have to, Malik likes me better!" That was Atemu. Tug.

"He does not!" Yank.

"He does TOO!" Wrench.

"And I say he does NOT!" Why was he being used to play tug-a-war!? His arms felt like they could fall off with the harsh treatment he was receiving!

"C-come on you two... You guys should-"

"_**Shut up!" **_

He gulped, eyes looking to his three friends for help, only to see that Bakura and Marik were laughing harshly at his current predicament, while Ryou smiled cutely behind a pale hand, appearing guilty but at the same time amused.

After the tugging continued though, it appeared the two people that he was hostage to were getting bored of this simple game, because the taller, more masculine one (Akefia) didn't seem content with simply pulling anymore. Before either Atemu or he knew it, Malik had been plucked off the ground and was currently being hoisted bridal style up by a cackling white haired man. Atemu looked more than peeved, and there it was again; that weird flicker of jealousy that Malik could swear he saw, but knew was impossible.

However, the confusing man was not the only one angered by Malik's sudden departure from the ground; within just a few moments, Bakura was standing up, suddenly glaring heatedly at his cousin. "Hey! Put Malik down!" The albino growled, and the ghost quickly made his way over to them, and Akefia let out a noise that sounded acute to a 'meep.' Because let's face it; we all know Bakura can be scary when he wants to!

Akefia paused, before pouting. "Ey' Atemu... I think Malik likes Bakura better than both of us." The tall man complained, although Akefia refused to let him go quite yet.

"It would appear so... That little bastard." Atemu was obviously joking, but nonetheless Malik couldn't help but be a little put off. It was odd that they were agreeing so quickly... so why didn't anyone else look surprised?

"Yeah. I think we should break up with him!" Akefia stated, giving Malik a sad, disappointed look, to which he gave an uncertain and confused smile.

"Without a doubt, he's not worthy of our love anymore!"

"Should I do it, Atemu?"

"Yeah, we'll run afterwards."

Malik was even more bewildered than ever, and he blinked in confusion, eyebrows furrowed, and was about to question what the bloody hell the two Egyptian's were talking about when he was very unceremoniously thrown at a seething Bakura. He let out a yelp, and considering the force and his body weight (which actually wasn't that much, but still), sent them both fumbling to the ground.

Evil cackles could be heard behind them that Malik identified to be the two that had just been arguing a mere five minutes ago, oddly enough. He would have looked back, but he was currently rubbing his rear end, the fall having been none too comfortable. Bakura sat across from him on the ground, growling something about murdering stupid lovebirds later. He was even more confused now, and with a large amount of uncertainty he looked back, only to gag slightly at the sight of Akefia lounging on the edge of the stage, comfortably holding Atemu who sat next to him, and the two seemed to be... calm?

He looked at Bakura for explanation. The whitenette grunted, standing up and beginning to dust himself off, before glancing down in annoyance. "Get up already, would you? You're blocking the path of some of the set crew." Malik glanced around, seeing that people were indeed having to walk around them, but he grinned cheekily, holding out a hand for Bakura to take.

"Won't you help me up, darling?" He asked; his voice sugar-coated with the sound of their fake loving tones that they used when in public. His fake boyfriend grimaced in disgust, before taking his hand (and holding it rather painfully) and heaving him up so that he was sent stumbling in another direction. He giggled slightly, and fell into a surprised Ryou's arms. "Ryou! What's up with... your cousin and Marik's manager?" He asked; voice now hushed although he was certain the two of topic could hear him.

"They always act like that!" Ryou explained with a smile, rolling his eyes. "They pretend to be rude to each other, but they've been going out for a few years now. Look..." Ryou pointed casually at their lower clasped hands, and for a moment he didn't understand what he was supposed to see, but a small silver sparkle plucked his attention. He gaped at the _huge_ wedding/binding ring that was placed on Atemu's left hand ring finger, and subconsciously he glanced over, taking in the sight of Akefia's left hand as well, which, like Atemu's, was adorned with a large sparkling jewel in the shape of a ring. The way Ryou explained things seemed quite accurate but nonetheless, odd (for lack of a better word). Malik had to admit though; they both had good taste. (In rings, of course – what did you think I was talking about?)

Malik smiled, and he felt himself be pulled into the friendlu atmosphere, something that always happened when he was with his three usual companions (that being Marik, Bakura and Ryou).

Talking to Akefia and Atemu felt quite normal, as if they'd been friends for years. The five drifted in and out of conversations, until Atemu realized exactly what time it was and Marik was quickly whisked away to do... whatever rock stars do when getting ready. Even though a few hours passed (around 3), he didn't find himself feeling bored for a moment of it. The models enjoyed themselves happily (Akefia had to go as well, needing to do a last minute check-up on the technical line-up), staying out of the way of the crew members that passed as well as they can. He didn't even notice the time of the concert growing near; that is, until the clock struck 8:30.

**~*~*~*~ **

**A few hours later****.**** (Ryou's P****.****O****.****V****.****)**

To say that he disliked music would be a lie; a dreadful lie. He adored it! All types in fact, although screamo and rap tended to freak him out most of the time. To say that he hated Marik's music would also be a stretch of the truth, because he did in fact appreciate it quite a bit. Ryou knew somewhere, in the back of his mind that if he didn't know the artist; he would very much fancy the music that his personal stalker produced.

Maybe.

Standing below, between rows and rows of fans was a very different experience, if he did say so himself. The lighting effects were magnificent, along with the sounds, even the layout was perfect! He would have to give Malik kudos after the concert had been finished. Marik's voice was – as usual – in top of the notch quality, reaching levels that some people would die for. Ryou personally couldn't sing, but he knew talent when he saw (or should I say heard?) it.

So, yes. There really was no logical reason that he should have a slight aversion to Marik's singing, and if asked he wouldn't be able to explain it, but it was there. The real reason was because, along with 98% of the girls (and boys) in the crowd...

Performances done by Marik made him _melt_.

That's right! He'd said (or thought) it! The words spoken by the Egyptian singer right before each song was played made his knees wobble weakly, forced his stomach into butterflies, caused his breath to come in quicker pants, created small drops of sweat down his cheeks and hands; let's accept it. He was a freaking love-sick school girl!

Except he wasn't. He did dislike Marik, he knew it. There was just that _attraction_. It had nothing to do with personality; there was just that physical desirability and charm that the elder male seemed to throw off in waves. It wasn't just him though, in his defense! For example, if you were to listen to the moment...

"Alright, girls, boys." Marik drawled slowly, eyes passing over seemingly every person in the crowd, although that was obviously impossible. "I know you're not all as innocent as you pretend to be, don't even try to hide it. Come on; spill it! How many of you like to get..." The man was beginning to lean down onto the stage, practically crawling, and Ryou felt his cheeks flush ever so slightly with anticipation. "_Dirty~?" _The word was spoken so sinfully, he was positive that a shiver ran up his spine. A large number of girls cheered, and Bakura did it loudly as a joke, although Ryou seemed to have lost his voice.

"Yeah, yeah. I thought so... So now tell me something else..." Marik was getting even lower, and Ryou felt himself bask in a bit of gratefulness that Bakura and him were towards the front, therefore Ryou had no problem viewing the Egyptian (although there were camera's, a large screen reflected everything Marik did to the right and left). "How many of you girls and boys have..." He could only watch futilely as a slow, seductive tongue crossed over Marik's lips, the singer's eyes ablaze; at this point he felt slightly faint. "**Secrets****...****~?**" Why was the world spinning?

There were more screams, and Ryou felt that emotion well up inside of him again; that horrible, addicting feeling of simply melting. He hung onto every word that Marik said, knowing he was being foolish, attempting to grimace, but leaning in anxiously none the less. "Mm' kay. Now, one last thing fools." Marik grinned wolfishly, winking. "How many of you have _Dirty Little Secrets~?!_"

The crowd went wild, and Marik jumped up. Right on queue the band began to play, and Ryou held his breath, eyes alight and unable to help but let a large smile cross his pink lips, for reasons that I'll leave to you to figure out.

_**(A/N: Just so everyone knows**__**...**__** I LOVE this song**__**.**__** My friends and I scream it**__**.**__** All the time**__**.**__** No insulting it!! Do you guys have anymore suggestions for songs that Marik could sing? Also, lyrics that you guys write are welcome xD)**_

"_Let me know that I've done wrong__..._

_When I've known this all along_

_I go around a time, or two_

_Just to waste my time with you!"_

It was preposterous. It was ridiculous. It made sense, but at the same time was probably one hundred percent his imagination, probably a result of eating barely anything the entire day. His eyes were deceiving him, and his mind was blatantly lying.

So why, oh why did he feel as if Marik was looking at him?

"_Tell me all that I've thrown away,_

_Find out games you don't wanna play!_

_Well you are the only one that needs to know__...__"_

Ryou was swept up in the moment, lost in the singer's voice, and he closed his eyes, just for a few blissful moments.

"_I'll keep you my dirty little secret_

_(Dirty Little Secret)_

_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_

_(Just Another Regret, Hope That You Can Keep It)_

_My Dirty Little Secret!_

_Who has to know?"_

When he opened his eyes once again, Marik was no longer 'looking' at him (not that he had been in the first place) and was singing to a girl across the stage, quite opposite from where Ryou stood. Fans were going wild, cheering and screaming the lyrics along with him; hell, the Egyptian barely had to sing! Ryou could do nothing but listen on.

"_When we live such fragile lives_

_It's the best way to survive_

_Go around a time or two,_

_Just to waste my time with you__._

_Tell me all that you've thrown away!_

_Find out games you don't wanna' play_

_Cos' you are, the only one that needs know!_

_I'll keep my dirty little secret_

_(Dirty Little Secret)_

_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_

_(Just Another Regret, Hope That You Can Keep It)_

_My dirty little secret__..._

_Who has to know?"_

It always amazed Ryou how Marik wore that sultry smile while singing, yet at the same time tended to have honesty laced within his words. Glancing around at the crowd of fans around him (who he noticed with not too much surprise were mostly females or rather... feminine looking males) he realized that all the fans around him were staring at the Egyptian on stage with adoring eyes. They looked like they'd do anything to be brought onto stage with Marik, and he wondered why he of all people seemed to have won the Egyptian's affections.

What was this song about, anyways? Marik had once told them that he wrote all of his songs; adding on that they reflected how he felt about certain people or his mood.

So who would Marik write _this_ song about?

He wasn't curious, or at least, Ryou told himself that he wasn't. Because, the truth was that it all came down to that one night, that one dreaded day two years ago... The rest of the song fell onto dumb (deaf) ears, and his eyes were glazed as he remembered the events of when they'd first met.

He still blamed Marik for the things that had happened afterwards.

**~*~*~*~**

Malik watched with wide eyes from the side of backstage (he had a rather good view, and he could see why Bakura and Ryou had complained about being kicked out of Marik's special guest spot), and couldn't help but laugh as Marik threw out both insults and complements to the crowd, joking with them to no abandon. To be honest, he hadn't listened to the singer that much on a daily basis, but upon seeing him in concert Malik was rather impressed! The Egyptian (no, not Malik- Marik! Gosh, there are way too many Egyptian's) was quite good; with a deep husky voice that the girls went wild for, although superb control over the notes the man breathed out. Every note was either perfectly hit, or purposefully missed. He changed octaves like Mozart did on a piano, and not a hint of fear or stage fright could be seen on the male.

Malik recalled Bakura mentioning something about Marik writing all his own songs, which made this even more impressive.

He was brought out of his reverie by Marik's intense flirting with the crowd.

"Alright, lovely ladies and drop-dead sexy gentlemen! It's time for our next song. And I wrote this one thinking of..." Malik blinked at the pausing man, for he seemed to have suddenly gone serious. A sigh was breathed out into the microphone, and everyone was silent, and the girls of the crowd stared up with huge eyes, breath held. "I'm not gonna' lie; there are some songs you have to be serious about, you know?"

A few occasional nods were seen in the crowd, and some fans cheered, urging Marik to go on. "That's why, I don't want anyone to laugh at this song. This is a serious matter."

There was a new, quiet mood that had been cast over the large room, and he found it odd, for this seemed quite different from the joking Marik that had been parading around the stage a few moments ago.

"Now, no giggles, but this song is about one thing, and one thing only..."

A pause.

"Because, motherfucker, the very serious thing at hand is there are no hidden meanings within this song, it's very straightforward, and what you hear is the truth: that this song is about sex and sex alone." Laughs could be heard echoing around the room, and Malik didn't resist rolling his eyes but smiling as well. Marik was such a weird person, although he found himself liking the man more and more.

He blinked back as one of the lights changed, and saw the room that Marik had entered when changing for the show (Malik suspected he'd also added more gel to his hair to make it spikier, but he hadn't shared this thought with the singer). He recalled the other male saying that if Malik got bored he could always hang out in that room, and although he was far from bored, curiosity got the best of him.

So, with one glance back at the stage he quietly went over to the room, wondering if this was like Marik's personal office. He could hear the music beginning to play from the center stage, but ignored it in order to open the door and gape.

Well, one thing was for sure! Marik spent a _lot_ of time in here.

The room practically screamed the singer, from the random colored lamps that littered the room, the messy bed placed in the corner with sheets and covers thrown in disarray and a few pillows (more than needed for the bed) littering the ground, to the black bean bag that had a gold laptop placed on it. Even the sandy brown and gold painted walls spoke of his Egyptian heritage. Posters covered the wall though; some of bands, others of famous models, and a few that caused Malik to blush heatedly even. On the wall opposite from the bed stood a mirror with a few tables/stands that held all sorts of make-up, brushes and other rather... feminine tools used for beauty, although of course he'd never mention such.

_**(A/N: As you can tell**__**...**__** Angael sucks with describing anything x3)**_

There was a book shelf (although, needless to say it held no books) with all sorts of pictures covering it. Curiosity perked, he began looking through the said photos. The first held Marik, Bakura and Ryou. The angrier twin was in the middle; although all three appeared to be rather content, even if Ryou was obviously pouting (Malik guessed it was because of Marik's presence).

The second was of Kaiba and Marik, and it seemed that Satan was being annoyed to no end by the sun-kissed male. The Egyptian in name was hugging Seto around the waste, and he could not help but giggle at the image. Seeing the blue eyed CEO harassed and give such a blatantly obvious death glare was quite amusing, after all! Absentmindedly he wondered if Marik had escaped Satan's wrath without a scratch after the photo was taken.

The next few pictures on the row consisted of Bakura and Marik again, Ryou being in some but usually absent from the photos. As his violet eyes descended to the next row of pictures, he was surprised to see Marik hooking an arm around an amused Mai, the reason for his slight shock being he hadn't known the two were acquainted (although, thinking back he probably should have, considering Mai had invited Marik to her party). As his eyes traveled over more pictures he saw other familiar faces, including Keith, Atemu and Akefia, and he couldn't help but feel his heart warm and a huge smile cross over his face as he recognized himself, Bakura, Ryou and Marik at the fair.

Finally, his amethyst eyes descended to the top row, and he let out a small but completely stunned gasp, trying to process what in the world was happening in the photo.

It wasn't that the rather large (bigger and clearer than all the rest, in fact. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before upon first looking at the shelf) picture was confusing and chaotic; no, it could easily be seen what was happening in it. The problem was he couldn't seem to process it, simply because what was happening in the photo seemed impossible. His eyes were wider than usual, and he probably would have laughed at Ryou's comical expression in the picture if it weren't for how purely confused he was. Could it be possible that Marik and Ryou had been...?

It certainly forced a lot of questions into his mind. Maybe it had been edited like the picture of Bakura and he had been? Somehow he doubted it though, for it seemed much too realistic and he didn't see how someone could get it in such detail. No, he decided, it wasn't possible.

Your probably wondering what exactly was in the photo to cause such a large reaction, which is why I'll tell you.

You see, boys and girls, the absolutely stunning and surprising thing that left Malik completely in awe and with a feeling that he'd seen something he shouldn't have was that in the photo, Marik and Ryou were-

His already large eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the dark grey door opened, and he turned around, appearing (and being) rather flustered.

A lightly sweating Marik stood in the doorway, apparently exhausted from being on stage for so long. The band and performance had just ended apparently; leaving Malik caught red handed, because somewhere in his time of utter shock he'd had the irresistible urge to pick up the amazing picture, therefore it was blatantly obvious what he was so stunned about.

The singer paused for a moment, a little bewildered at Malik's embarrassed and confused appearance, before Marik broke into laughter. "Aah, I see you found _that_ photo~"

Malik went red, blushing profusely. "I-I didn't mean to snoop! I'm sorry it wasn't really in my place to be looking around at your pictures it's just that I saw this and well I'm really confused and... well... I suppose I don't really know what to think and..." Malik was looking everywhere except Marik, and it was then that he looked over at Marik's small make-up counter and hesitated, letting out another gasp except for a different reason. "I knew you used hair gel!" He let out triumphantly, receiving an odd look from the other male.

"I'm not really sure what to say to the last part but..." Marik calmly walked over, staring down at the photo with a soft smile that Malik didn't see often, appearing happy. "In this... well, I suppose you could say this was the first time I met, or saw for that matter, Ryou." Happily the singer began to smile even wider, and Malik stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"The first time you met Ryou you..." The boy's tone was slightly unbelieving; however the man's large grin didn't fade.

"Y-you..."

A pause...

"You actually..."

Another pause.

"You _kissed_ Ryou!?"

_**(**__**Kudos to all of you that saw that coming, it was so obvious XD To those that didn't: Don't worry, I'm slow too o**__**.**__**o)**_

"... Heh, that was a very good day, if I do say so myself."

**~*~*~*~ (Marik's P****.****O****.****V****.****) (I KNEW YOU ALL WERE WAITING FOR IT!)**

_He sighed out of boredom as he took another sip of his wine, eyes lidded and leaning against one of the walls to Kaiba's private party boredly__.__ It was just to please the paparazzi, this entire ordeal__.__ All of the celebrities working under Kaiba (this included singers, models, photographers, political speakers, actors, directors, etc__.__) had been invited, but since Atemu and Akefia were neither of those things they weren't allowed to attend, and neither was Keith__.__ Mai was off flirting with some male and Marik had never really appreciated threesomes so he'd declined her offer to tag along__.__ Kaiba was of no help as well, considering he was talking to some reporter smugly, no doubt making a "great deal" and ripping money off of millions of poor innocent souls (because that's what Satan does)__._

_He made a face, resisting the urge to let out a groan and draw attention to himself__.__ As far as tonight had gone, he'd been trying to do just that; be inconspicuous__.__ He despised it when women fawned over him, because he was rather bluntly gay and found the female race to be useless (to put it harshly)__.__ Actually, beauty in general held no interest to him__.__ He liked the sexy type of men, those that were drool-worthy and had to practically be beaten into submission, although he would every once in a while agree to be on bottom__.__ A man that looked like a girl was just as bad as females themselves, and therefore he held no respect for them__._

_Now Mai: she was a great example of a woman that he could appreciate__.__ Flirtatious or friendly, either way she was straight to the point and rather sarcastic, but not in a cruel or cunning way__. __Rather, one that was out to have fun but would take care of you if need be__.__ She reminded him a lot of his own mother, actually__._

_Such useless thoughts bored him though, so he decided to pass time with a little hobby of his that he liked to refer to as 'making fun of people upon sight that aren't as good as the great Marik'__.__ For short, the game where he mentally destroyed peoples self esteem__.__ This actually (as it happens) wasn't very short__._

_With a wolfish grin he scanned his eyes over models, photographers and whatnot, smirking as he mentally insulted them__._

_**That one's hair is much too long, he looks like a girl**__**.**_

_He moved his eyes to the next person__._

_**Look at that guy! His skin is as pale as snow; he looks plain sickly**__**.**_

_With a snort he let his gaze travel to the next person__._

_**Ugh**__**.**__** What an ugly color of mud-brown eyes, I'm insulted just being in his presence**__**.**_

_He was beginning to have fun already!_

_**How old is that guy? He must be an idiot to bleach his hair THAT blond so it almost looks white, how unappealing**__**.**__** Only Akefia can pull off that look!**_

_As his dark purple and insulting eyes came to the next person that he'd seen from the corner of his eye, his smirk froze in place though__._

_And it wasn't just his smirk; his body soon followed, his heart the only thing moving, and it did so rather quickly__.__ Even time seemed to slow as he stared, unblinking, at the young man (around 18 he guessed, although wasn't positive) whom had caught his attention__.__ His breath came quickly and unevenly, and it was loud against his ears as it seemed every other sound had quieted down__.__ His palms were sweaty and his stomach did flip-flops, and he found it impossible to look away at the _beauty_ that his gaze had fallen upon__._

_No, the word did the boy shame__.__ Absentmindedly he searched his brain for a word suiting the male that was halfway across the room but came up blank__.__ Princess seemed closer than anything else, although he felt that too was an insult to the lovely model (because he had no doubt that was indeed what the boy was)__.__ Finally, without knowing better, he settled on _angel_, because the pure word seemed to fit better than anything else he could conjure up__._

_You see, the pure being almost seemed magical__.__ An onlooker might have pointed out that Marik had just pointed out things about other people, all features that the boy he stared at now seemed to possess, yet that was different__.__ With snow white hair that fell halfway down the unknown boy's back, and parted majestically to cup his beautiful face in the front__.__ And what a face it was, with large, full lips that were the perfect pink color, and huge beautiful, _beautiful_ chocolate brown eyes__.__ Even an adorable nose was adorned by the creature__.__ He was smaller than most of the men around them, although Marik found that even more adorable__.__ His skin was a pale creamy color (wonderful, nonetheless) that would put snow white to shame, Marik was sure__.__ A slim figure with no build whatsoever seemed to suit the gorgeous male, for just from looking at the stunning boy's face you could see he was gentle, kind and much more loving than most__.__ Marik just _knew_ all this without a doubt, and any thoughts of feminine males being unappealing and shameful quickly left his mind__.__ And then something breathtaking happened__._

_The beautiful boy looked at him__._

_And in those beautiful eyes was happiness, curiosity, purity and all the things Marik had never once before been so infatuated with, yet here and now he felt that even angel fell short of holding true to the being and aura that came off the striking male (although__...__ he wasn't completely positive of the others gender yet)__._

_**Perfect**__**.**_

_He still couldn't move, too struck by the boy's eyes and much too frozen by the boy's looks__.__ His entire soul seemed to race, and his eyes lidded ever so slightly__.__ And then (if meeting the models gaze hadn't been enough) the male did something so beautiful, Marik was sure he had died and gone to heaven__._

_The small, fragile and gentle looking teen smiled__._

_And it was as if time started up again, just like that__.__ And as the boy looked at him uncertainly and then began to look away, he let out a small growl__.__ He would have none of that! Marik needed the other's eyes on him again__.__ The second the boy had looked away he'd known without a doubt that if he were to go on living without the other in his presence, he might as well die__._

_Now, he'd often been told he should think through his actions before initiating them, and he usually tried to follow this advice, but right now any notion of it was gone with the wind, as they tended to say__.__ His legs no longer were contracted and no longer glued him to the ground; no, almost on their own they made their way to the still turning teen__.__ His heart beat quickly, and as gently but still forceful as he could he placed a hand on the others thin, lovely arm and turned him back around__.__ As soon as he saw the surprised boy turn to him, any hesitation he'd previously had (which admittedly wasn't that much) was gone, and with little to no thought he let his feelings take over:_

_He leaned in at let his lips press up against a rather shocked, pale and beautiful boy's__._

_He heard gasps come from around them, although he didn't concentrate on them__.__ Not drawing attention be damned, he didn't care anymore! He only focused on the feeling, the wonderful and angelic feeling of the feather soft lips pressed against his dry but recently wetted ones__._

_He knew he was asking for trouble, but as he softly and lovingly pressed his lips to the boy's, he was positive of one thing and one thing only:_

_Love at first sight, surely, without a doubt existed__._

**~*~*~*~ (I swear, I won't try to kill you with sappiness anymore****.**** If you're not dead yet, you are truly a brave soul****...**** xD (don't kill me harlequin!))**

Malik blinked curiously as the short story ended, finding it amusing and slightly silly of Marik to have done something so rash. He couldn't help but want to hear more, and eagerly he pushed on.

"What happened then?"

Marik laughed at Malik's obvious eagerness, quite calm really. "Well, he pushed me away obviously!" Although he had been expecting that, Malik couldn't help the small tinge of disappointment that coursed through him. "After that I became best friends with Bakura, who said I had a lot of guts to kiss someone upon first sight, but also threatened to skewer me into tiny pieces if I ever dared do it again. Somehow, I didn't doubt him." Marik laughed, and Malik found that he too didn't doubt Bakura's word. "Everything was actually fine after that, and Ryou tended to be really flustered around me but still maintained his politeness..." Marik had gone soft, apparently not caring for this part of the story.

Malik was even more curious now, having thought that the reason for Ryou's bitter behavior had been the kiss, but apparently not. "And then?"

The singer paused, before letting out a sloppily hidden sigh. "As it turns out, the paparazzi took _loads_ of pictures." Marik pointed to the one he was holding. "We were the cover page for quite a few magazines..."

...

"Even in Britain..."

Malik suddenly had the small inkling that he knew where this was going.

"Well, it seems his father found out, and from what I've heard the man's a real homophobe. Bakura never told him about his sexuality and apparently neither did Ryou, so when Mr. Touzokuou saw the cover page he threw a fit, threatening to even disown Ryou as his son. Of course he didn't, but I don't think he's forgiven Ryou completely for everything that happened, even today..." Marik muttered something under his breath about the twin's father being a 'bastard' and not deserving a caring and beautiful son like Ryou.

Malik couldn't help but feel saddened by what the other male had said, yet the way the singer spoke of Ryou... so gentle, caring and soft, was so different than the usually joking, sarcastic and hyper Marik. He found it heartwarming despite the sad ending to the story, and as he smiled softly, he asked the question that he had began wondering half way through the tale.

"You love him don't you?"

At the question, the other Egyptian was back to normal, grinning widely. Marik didn't bother answering, giving a wink. At that moment, they both heard yelling from a rash Bakura and loud knocking from the named albino, while a soft laughing voice told him to shush.

The Egyptian singer smiled, staring at the door, obviously entertained, before turning his gaze back to Malik. "Let's not tell Ryou yet, though. The poor boy is absolutely horrible with such simple feelings." Marik winked, and Malik couldn't help but smile and nod.

The singer began to make his way over to the door, when Malik stopped him with a soft but happy comment.

"He'll come around, Marik." With wide eyes the older male turned back, surprised at the statement. "I know he will!" Malik giggled.

Marik stared a little longer, before finally placing a hand upon Malik's head and ruffling the blond's unruly hair there, beginning to grin wildly.

"I gotta say kid, I'm not sure I've ever met anyone quite like you but..." Marik paused, then, "I really like you."

**~*~*~*~**

_Your eyes are smiling  
I become a schemer  
the music's playing  
I become a dreamer  
I wear a flower in my hair  
and my feet dance on air  
because I love you__.___

Sunbeams are shining  
and I'm in a fever  
the love song thrills me  
from my favorite Diva  
I wear your emerald ring  
and to you dear I cling  
because I love you_.___

We walk together  
in the twilight gloaming  
I've never felt like this  
and it could be showing  
I must tell you some more  
it's you I'll always adore  
because I love you_._

_By Joyce Hemsley_

**~*~*~*~**

WOOH. It's finally done.

I'm not replacing the announcement chapter with this one because I know that can screw up fanfictions and cause problems with reviewing and such, so...

Me no-no. I'm just not doin it xD

OMG. HARLEQUIN DEMON, I BLAME YOU FOR MAKING ME MAKE THE "XDD" FACE SO MUCH!! xD (my point?)

So how did everyone like Alice in Wonderland ? (:

**I'm going to leave it up to all of you on whether the next chapter should be more deathshipping OR****...**

**SHOULD THE NEXT CHAPTER BE KAIBA AND MALIK BONDING TIME!? XDDD**

Everything will become clear in the future O.O

...

Tell me what you think? xD

**Date Completed: 3/20/10**

**Word Count: 9.413 (OMG. Not fair. I was sososo close to 10.000 again D:)**


	7. The Plan With Me and Only Me

**Congratulations to Chibi-Roy-Chan for being my 100****th**** reviewer! **

**Because Roy-Chan has this special number, I will write an oneshot in dedication to him/her with a couple of his/her choosing****.**** (: I will be doing this for every big 100 (200, 300) I reach****...**** which will probably only be one or at most two more, considering this is almost half over****.**** Lol****.**** NOT QUITE HALF THOUGH!! **

Now that that's over with...

Izaya Orihara makes me want to bite my lip and do naughty things to myself.

Lol, same goes for Shizuou but... Izaya reminds me sooo much of Bakura, except the animations are better. How I love Dararara. XD

I didn't get very many reviews last chapter... D;

BUT OMG. You guys are gonna love me for this.

**WARNING: Thiefshipping****.**** To the max****.**** Keep your pants on, even though it will be hard, ladies****.**** XD This is dedicated to 'the harlequin demon****.****' Because I've been horrible and haven't replied to any of her messages/reviews because they are so freaking awesome and long****. ****AND ALSO BECAUSE THERE IS MORE CUTENESS IN THIS CHAPTER. MWAHAHAHA! XDDD**

***is shot xD***

**Also, the deathshipping arc concludes in this chapter****.**** We may be revisiting it when the conclusion comes by but if so only a little****.**** :3 **

**~*~*~*~**

Monday.

Malik hummed a cheery tune to himself, hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts as he walked down the hallway to the complex he shared with Bakura and Ryou. He was oblivious to the world, and quite happy to finally be done with his work for the day, which had been a slow but time consuming shoot which had forced him to skip lunch, rendering him hungry as of now. The boy smiled to himself, not noticing the two darkly lurking shadows that crept behind him. Contently he reached out a hand to turn the door knob, only to find that a pale hand was covering his own. His blinked his large, amethyst eyes, and as he started to turn around another, more tan hand covered his eyes. So he did the only thing he could do with such short notice:

Malik let out a very manly squeak.

The Egyptian thrashed around, demanding to be let go while his two captors dragged him around the corner and into a different hallway, laughing at his demise. It wasn't that he was scared; no, he was quite sure who was holding him (in fact, the two people at fault would cause fear to rise in most people's hearts, but he was an exception), he was much more enraged. Because...

"WHAT THE FRIG DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Malik hollered at the top of his lungs as he was rudely dropped onto the floor, glaring venomous daggers up at Bakura and Marik. The two friends hurriedly shushed him, looking around nervously.

"Would you keep it down, pipsqueak!?" Bakura 'requested', although it was more of an order. Marik then nudged the albino, to which the angry twin took a deep calming breath, apparently trying to control his never ending bad mood. "We need you to do something for us." Well, that was pretty much as polite as Bakura got, Malik couldn't help but think.

Malik frowned, feeling insulted because this really wasn't the way for them to get him to do something, although he'd have to bear with these two for now. His silence was a signal for them to continue and that he was listening.

Marik seemed nervous, which was odd, although Bakura seemed slightly displeased.

"As you know little brother..." Marik had taken to calling him that, since the two Egyptian's looked so alike. "It's almost the end of the month, in fact it's only a week away." Malik nodded, still not understanding what the two wanted. "That means two things; for you, school is starting back up. Keith was lucky he caught you on the Friday before break or you wouldn't have been able to stay with lovely Ryou and Bakura for so long. You'll probably just have to work weekends, but I'm not quite sure. I suppose you should ask Kaiba, since it's not my area of expertise. Oh but what does it matter?

"The end of December also means something for me, sadly."Marik chuckled nervously, while Malik raised an eyebrow. Bakura couldn't help but snicker, which increased the poor boy's curiosity even more. "D-do you remember that bet Ryou and I made...?" Malik's eyes widened. "The one about Bakura and you doing it like bunnies by the end of the month, and if not then I would have to disappear from little Ryou's life for a year?" He couldn't help but twitch in irritation, muttering something about Marik deserving it, but he nodded nonetheless.

What were they going to do, then? Ryou would be too embarrassed and stubborn to withdraw the consequence of the bet, and even if the kind albino did, Malik doubted Marik's pride would remain intact. It appeared however, that the two mischievous friends already had a plan.

"Well, since no one wants that to happen, I was thinking that if, you know, Bakura and you could well, eheh, possible, you know..." Malik didn't like where this was going. "Well, eheh, come on don't give me that look..." The glare that the Egyptian boy had taken on grew harsher. "Oh please Malik?! All I'm asking is that you two pretend to have sex with while Ryou accidently walks in! Is that really too much to do!? Please please please-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

**~*~*~*~**

Tuesday.

"Malik! Look, I bought you flowers! See? They're purple, your favorite color! So do you think you might consider please pretending to-"

Malik slammed the door in the singer's face.

**~*~*~*~**

Wednesday.

"_And I loooovee you, little brother!_

_I wrote this sooongg for you, little brother!_

_So would you please please please pretend to have sex with your fake boyfriend, little brother?"_

Malik all but threw his headset on, turning up **good** music to full blast, drowning out the sound of desperate pleas.

**~*~*~*~**

Thursday.

"Don't you love me...? Do you really hate me that much...? I guess I just don't mean anything to you..." Marik sniffled, streams of fake tears escaping his cheeks.

"Hey Bakura, can you pass the duct tape?"

**~*~*~*~**

Friday.

Malik stared incredulously, wondering if Marik was really this desperate.

"Please, please master... I beg of you, I'll do anything..." The poor Egyptian man dressed in a dog costume begged, bowing at the model's feet.

Malik face-palmed, grabbed a bagel, and proceeded to throw it out the window.

"Fetch, dog."

**~*~*~*~**

Saturday.

Marik stared into space, face blank.

Malik refused to look over at the depressed looking man, keeping his eyes trained on the TV.

_Whimper__._

He refused to turn.

_Sniff__._

No, he would not look over!

_Hiccup__._

Malik gave in, turning his head to the side, only to see a poor, usually happy singer, cuddling into a pillow, staring at him with huge, watering dark purple eyes. The man's lower lip trembled, and his hair almost seemed to sag in depression. There were large rings under Marik's eyes, and his body huddled into the couch, looking pathetic and depressed. It was as if a rain cloud hung above the Egyptian elder's soul.

He groaned.

Damn the puppy dog look.

So he finally gave in with one, slightly awkward, but extremely necessary question, which pretty much signed his life away to the devil.

"Fuck you Marik; am I being on top or bottom?"

He could only sigh as he was glomped by a now ecstatic and enthusiastic man.

"Okay, so here's how it's going to work..."

**~*~*~*~**

Malik sighed boredly, eyes dreary and looking quite unaffected by his current predicament/position. And what might that be, you ask? Well, to put it frankly he was rather precariously positioned underneath a pale albino that he sometimes heavily disliked, and sometimes liked ever so slightly in that acquaintance sort of way.

At the moment, he didn't care one way or another, and just wanted to get this over with.

A few other things you might want to note about his and Bakura's position; they were both shirtless. The blankets covered them from the waist down though, so it hadn't been required that they be stripped off their pants as well (although Bakura had said it was much too hot, and insisted that they take their pants off, to which Malik had refused and the albino had done anyways). He had been in this position for the past half hour, while he and the other had been going over the "script" and certain... movements. He was quite certain that if he was ever forced to do this again, he might just resort to suicide. Bakura looked rather heated, and surprisingly was more embarrassed about this entire ordeal than Malik was.

Malik had the feeling that if it hadn't been Marik asking, Bakura would have refused this situation, no matter what the cost. It was almost cute how close the two were; the key word being 'almost'.

By now Malik was thinking of calling this entire thing off, because he'd been waiting so fucking LONG. How long was it going to take for Ryou to get back from a film shoot?! The pale boy was supposed to have walked in 15 minutes ago!

"When the bloody hell is Ryou-" Just as Bakura had began to speak Malik's thoughts, Bakura's phone beeped, signaling a new txt message. Malik just barely managed to peak to the side, bluntly ignoring the other's well built and pale chest (which did not sparkle, proving that Bakura was indeed not a vampire, because sunlight was streaming in through the windows).

The text message read:

"_Ryou's cumming!"_

_-From Marik_

Malik began to laugh while Bakura bristled, muttering something about perverted Egyptian's deserving to die. Bakura took a remote that had been conveniently placed beside them and pressed play, causing loud music to begin booming. Malik and Bakura began the scene they had rehearsed too many times, and Malik decided that if he never had to pretend to do this again it would be one too many times.

Without further adieu, Malik began to squirm and writhe underneath Bakura, eyes closed as he let out loud moans, just like Marik had taught him (which, he had to say, had been rather amusing even if it had been for a horribly depressing cause). Sadly both Marik and Bakura had told him that he was, without a doubt, a permanent bottom, meaning he had to play the part of the girl. Bakura had poked fun at this fact to no end, and even now as the albino moved his hips against Malik's lower regions (which, oddly enough, he could swear he felt something slightly hard digging into his hip, but he knew he was imagining it), the Egyptian could see the man smirking, which caused him to glare. They both breathed harshly, and thanks to some softly applied blush (something Marik had demanded) their faces were flushed, making them look quite aroused. As Malik heard the door knob turn, Bakura began to join in on his moans as well.

They were, without a doubt, the perfect image of hot, steamy, and arousing man sex.

A quiet gasp could barely be heard over the loud music and the... insistent moans, but Malik noted it nonetheless. No doubt Ryou looked like a tomato at the moment, although Malik was too far pressed down into the bed to see if his guess was true at the moment. He could tell Bakura was enjoying this (because it was humiliating for the Egyptian boy), which made him want to get it over with even more. He pressed his cheek into Bakura's neck, 'moans' pausing for a moment.

"Bakura... I'm going to... ahh.." Bakura kicked him for sounding so unrealistic and unenthused, although Ryou was too innocent they both knew, so he would still probably fall for it.

"M-Malik..." The albino's voice was husky, and very _very_ believable; causing Malik to actually color a bit, and it wasn't because of the heat. His cheek was still closely pressed to the pale and eviler twin's neck, and he really would have preferred to do nothing but pull away, but the door hadn't slammed shut yet, meaning Ryou was still in the room. This therefore implied that this little charade would have to continue for a little bit longer. Unfortunately, this next part meant no slacking, or it would be completely unbelievable.

"B-bakura... I-I am..." He took a deep breath, before letting out his loudest scream/moan yet. "A-aahh~!" Malik 'arched' into Bakura, and no more than a second later the door resounded with a loud and fearful 'BANG.'

Malik slumped, while Bakura burst into fits of quiet chuckles.

Soon (even though he was a little annoyed, and quite embarrassed), Malik too was laughing, until they both realized how silly this entire deal was, leaving only Bakura giggling rather uncharacteristically.

"Well... it's up to Marik now, isn't it, Kura?"

...

"P-pttsch.. HAHAHA... 'I'm going to... ahhh' Pathetic. I feel sorry for the person that ends up being your lover, because you obviously will suck at sex." Silence. "M-Malik, what are you doing with that bat?"

**~*~*~*~ (deathshipping up next, if you dislike it, don't read xD)**

Ryou gulped air down his lungs, back pressed to the door to their complex harshly, eyes the size of dinner plates, and cheeks the color of strawberries. It had taken exactly 6.5 seconds for him to process the fact that Bakura and Malik were doing _that_, and to think that he had walked in while Malik was...! Was...!

When?

How?

What?

_Them!?_

His thought process was an incoherent jumble of random words that portrayed his disbelieving confusion. It wasn't so much that he minded the idea of his brother and Malik being together, but to actually see them going at it in the middle of the day... well, he was just thankful that they hadn't decided to do it in _his_ bed, considering it was the biggest. Just as he was beginning to get over his initial shock and start to worry if the two were using a condom (because yes, he'd actually paid attention to health class when in high school, and strongly believed in safe sex), he saw a slight blur in the corner of his vision, and as he turned he saw Marik rounding the corner walking towards him.

"Hey lovely! Are Bakura and Malik here? Is something wrong...? You look a little flushed..." Marik seemed clueless enough, which meant that the Egyptian had been unknowing about this as well. Ryou started to panic as he saw the older man's hand reaching for the doorknob to his complex, and without thinking he grabbed Marik's hand and shouted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You can't go in! Malik and Bakura are having wild sex in there!" Ryou shouted. Sadly, the first thing that came to mind happened to be the truth. He had no idea that inside the complex, Malik and Bakura were staring at the door, quite humiliated.

Marik was giving him a similar look of surprise and slight amusement, but nonetheless the older man removed his hand from the knob although he did nothing to separate there now joined hands. Noticing this, Ryou immediately pulled away and mumbled somewhat of an apology, looking down at their feet. He couldn't help it! Ever since that meeting a few years ago (and he knew it was a long time to hold a grudge, Ryou prided himself on the fact!) he hadn't been able to come into physical contact with the Egyptian without remembering that... _sensation__._ That heavenly feeling. Realizing he was getting caught up in his thoughts, he raised his eyes once again, taking a step back upon realizing they were at normal talking distance (and he appreciated being at least four feet away from the male).

"So..." Marik began, eyebrows raised. "You're telling me that they're in there... buttfucking in the middle of the day?" Ryou went a ripe shade of red, always disliking Marik's habit of using swear words commonly. Was it really necessary?

"Y-yes." He confirmed, glaring slightly at the male, although he wasn't quite sure why. Something about this situation just seemed... suspicious? Naw, he was probably just being paranoid.

Marik considered this for a few seconds, before grinning widely, leaning down in front of Ryou and taking a step closer, positioned so they were eye to eye. "Good!" The slightly insane man stated happily, and Ryou resisted meeping as a hand was placed on top of his head, keeping him in place so he couldn't back away. "That means you owe me a smile!"

Ryou was now very, very confused. "A smile...? But... why?" He asked curiously. Why would the pale model have to smile after finding out that his best friend and twin brother were lovers? Of course he was happy for them but why would he owe Marik something?

Marik blinked, appeared slightly disturbed. "R-remember? That bet we made? About Malik and Bakura screwing like bunnies by the end of the month, and if I won you had to smile and if you won I'd have to leave...?" Marik was beginning to look desperate, eyes wide.

Ryou tilted his head to the side, feeling Marik's hand not leave it's resting place. "Oh... that." He stated, and then made a face. "I'm afraid I'd completely forgotten."

There was an odd, deathly silence, which Ryou completely missed.

"Oh. Well, can I have my smile anyways?" Marik asked nervously, grinning hopefully.

Eyes wide, and slightly confused, Ryou considered this. Subconsciously he raised his hands above his head and removed Marik's, taking a step away. Why? He was slightly confused at the moment. It had struck him odd when the Egyptian singer had first asked for 'a smile' (it seemed like yesterday) and now that he was actually supposed to present Marik with one... he couldn't. Shamefully he refused to look the older man in the eyes, his chocolaty mocha colored orbs huge and staring down at the ground. A smile wouldn't give Marik anything. So why? It was pointless. Marik had probably been messing with him from the beginning. The albino man could fake a smile, but knowing his brother's insane best friend, Marik would be able to tell.

"I..." Ryou could tell the other was looking at him, and already he could feel the disappointment radiating off the male. But... there was something else to. Something Ryou had never felt from Marik before, and he was afraid to look up and find out what it was. "I don't want to! It's pointless!" He said stupidly, looking up and meeting Marik's eyes, defiant and stubborn till the end. Why was he being so childish? It was just a smile. Yet the muscles in his face felt frozen, as if refusing to bend to his will.

And now he was being stared... no, glared at.

And Ryou could only gulp upon realizing for the first time Marik was _angry_ at him. Really angry.

"Do you really hate me that much? Dislike me so much that even a simple _smile_ is impossible for you to conjure up? How many times have I apologized to you? I've lost count. You're just being stupid and immature, two things I never seemed to connect with you. For once Ryou... I... I don't even want to be in the same room as you right now." And with that, Marik whipped around, refusing to even look at him. Spiky gelled hair and a toned back were all that faced Ryou, and he felt guilt course through his body.

"M-marik... w-wait!" The said person did no such thing however, and he cursed (which in Ryou terms translates into 'darn it') before hurrying after the foreign singer, refusing to let things stand as they were.

Marik wasn't even looking back, instead walking on at a steady pace, to which Ryou soon caught up to. Hesitantly he tried to get the other to talk to him.

"Marik...?"

There was no response, instead the other simply walked into an elevator to which Ryou followed, and a sun-kissed hand pressed the main floor button.

"Oh come on... a smile isn't important, you could get anyone in the world to smile for you."

The tall man waited patiently (although annoyance was quite obviously flickering on his face) for the doors of the elevator to open, and when they did he walked into the lobby of the building, eyes holding barely any emotion.

"Stop ignoring me Marik, this isn't funny...!" Ryou knew his voice was almost cracking from desperation, but he was beginning to feel scared. Marik had never treated him this way...!

When the singer began to make his way over to an unsuspecting employee that was dressed in a waiter outfit (they were now by the hotel's restaurant), Ryou felt his heart sink.

"Looking for a good time, beautiful?" Marik drawled, beginning to push the very feminine and cute waiter against the wall nearest to them. Ryou was just glad that there weren't too many onlookers, indeed the only person watching this odd display was Ryou.

The innocent waiter looked at Marik with surprised eyes, cheeks inflamed, apparently not having noticed Ryou. "S-sir...? But we're..." Marik began trailing a hand up and down the nicely laid out waiter suit, causing the waiter to gasp. "I-I've never met you before though...!" Ryou was starting to get annoyed. If the man planned on pushing Marik away, why hadn't he done it yet?! This guy was stupid!

"Oh stop this. And you, your being an idiot, did you know you could get fired from your job if you get caught doing this?" Ryou asked angrily, but just as the waiter was beginning to look quite doubtful, Marik put his magical lips to work on the young employee's neck, and Ryou could practically watch as the man melted.

Oh, he really didn't like this at all.

"But.. y-you're friends w-watching..." Ryou could actually hear the sucking sounds that followed the young waiter's sentence, and he felt his heart begin to beat at a sight of this horrible scene unfolding in front of him.

"Does it matter? I don't know him..." Marik stated huskily.

Why? Why was Marik being so cruel...?

"Y-you don't...?"

Why did this hurt so much?

"Nope... Never seen him before."

Why did it feel like he'd give anything to make Marik take those words back? He wanted to yell he didn't care to the world, and say 'good riddance' yet...

He stared numbly, and it was almost as if the world was in slow motion, as Marik began to raise his beautiful face towards the other man's. As those wonderful yet horrible lips began to part, and as the man he so often spent every moment of the day thinking about and 'disliking'. And as Marik's lips pressed against the waiter's, he couldn't say he felt his first tears begin to fall.

He supposed it was slightly comical and ironic, that for years now Marik had chased after him, and Ryou had done nothing but try and escape his embraces, smiles, glances and caresses. The way Marik always looked at him with those _eyes_ and now he would give _anything_...

"_Just stop!" _Ryou cried out, eyes closed and breath coming quickly, beginning to shake in both hurt and anger. Without thinking he pulled Marik away from the bewildered waiter, and he also didn't spare a thought in dragging Marik outside, he didn't care about anything right now other than Marik, and getting away from the blasted, dreadful, ugly _bastard_ waiter.

"Ryou are you crying-?"

"_Shut up!"_ He all but exhaled, near the point of hyperventilating. He must have looked horrid, cheeks splotchy, eyes red and small tears making their way down his cheeks. "You're not allowed to touch _anyone_ like that! I don't care if it's Bakura or him or if it's just friendly, the only person you're ever allowed to kiss is me! No one, no one else! Just like when we first met, you always ramble on about how it was meant to be yet you do that! It's not fair, and can't you see that the only reason it has taken me so long to realize the only person in the _entire world _I want to hold me is you, is because you're always so, so darn straightforward! You're mine just like you always say and if you want a smile then I'll give you the stupid smile and... and..." He was breathing harshly, and the few occasional tears had all but disappeared, and the sadness he'd felt had been turned into anger. He was running out of fuel for his long speech, and he was positive that yelling all that had caught quite a crowd's attention, but he couldn't find it within him to care. "And... you just... oh I'm being stupid aren't I...?" Ryou sniffled, eyes now soft upon looking at the completely stunned, bewildered, and infuriatingly **happy** Marik. "Oh... shut up." He managed to mumble, turning his gaze to the other's chest. He could feel his lower lip trembling, and as Ryou felt a gentle hand take his arm he squeezed his eyes shut, unsure of what Marik planned to do.

Relief and a small amount of surprise flooded through the small man as arms wrapped around him, resting in the small of his back. Awkwardly Ryou followed Marik's example, wrapping his delicate pale arms around the older man's neck, a bit nervous that he'd be doing something wrong. And one sentence caused him to freeze and turn into a pile of goo.

"You are so beautiful, Ryou."

As I said before, that simple sentence caused the albino's knees to come close to giving out, and as if sensing this Marik chuckled, pulled back a foot or so and spun the small male around, eyes quite admiring.

They must have been an odd sight, a very tall and well built Egyptian male with dark purple eyes, bronze skin and wild looking blond hair, holding a small and fragile appearing white younger man with huge brown eyes and an appearance that an angel might be jealous of, and spinning him around as an adult might do to a child. Indeed, many people glanced upon this small show of affection and couldn't help but smile, a small glimmer of happiness being added to their daily lives. Of course, they didn't know that their happiness was nothing compared to the broadly smiling and laughing new couple, in fact it was only 1/1000, if put into a fraction.

The only thing that made the scene just the smallest bit more magical was the snow that began to fall.

**~*~*~*~**

Bakura smirked contently as he looked out the window, having noticed a while ago that Marik and Ryou were seemingly arguing about something in front of their building. The two looked quite happy together, something that everyone had expected for a long time, yet still was slightly surprising to see, considering Ryou had taken **forever** to come around. His eyes were soft as he stared down at the loving two below him, and without knowing it; he felt the smallest ounce of jealousy form in his heart.

Subconsciously his much darker, and greatly less innocent than Ryou's eyes traveled over to the Egyptian teen, who was fussing over some homework that Malik's school had been assigned over break.

And just like that...

The jealousy disappeared.

He didn't need a relationship right now... he was happy just watching.

For now.

And with that thought in mind he smiled, a small, nearly impossible to sight and hard to find grin, eyes sparkling ever so slightly as he stared at the oblivious teen in front of him. He had his own star, which he had locked away in his pocket.

**~*~*~*~**

_Have you ever seen a shooting star?  
The night clouded, clouded with its little sparks  
But not shooting  
Not sparking  
Not flying out of their little dark pockets  
But sitting still,  
Still sitting  
There for me if I were to pluck them out in need.  
Those little lights  
Never to be blinded by the dark  
For those lights were always there when I plucked them out in need  
But you, you were shooting  
In my direction  
You and those good intentions of yours  
I never thought I'd say'  
Maybe too good for me at the moment.  
Yes, yes maybe, but who would have thought?  
Do you not know, that there is the possibility that I may not catch you  
For I am so used to the burn of my collapsing sun  
My collapsing sun, with its  
Hollow rays of light  
I ripped through the flames  
The passionate flames  
And found inside the dust  
I sucked at the dust with every breath of air  
I sucked at the dust but there was never 'no more'.  
I coughed and gagged and breathed my life into the rays  
For so much of my oxygen supply became that sun.  
So I may not catch you  
But I will never drop you.  
Though I know you have fallen  
Fallen it seems in my direction  
And you have held me up in your struggle  
Not solid in all ways  
Though I know you're not hollow  
You're filled with blood, and bone, and truth  
A lullaby sung beautifully in the midst of twilight  
But stuck  
Stuck in the midst of my twilight  
And in it you have become my shooting star.  
The loss of you, leaving the bullets sting  
Silver in its glory  
But I fear it will rust with your distance  
Leaving the hole to turn up its heavy head  
And smirk at me.  
With that ever too familiar grimace.  
But  
I  
Have  
Seen  
A  
Shooting  
Star._

_-Anonymous_

**That is my favorite poem that I've found so far. (: I know it's long but it's beautiful, isn't it? **

**Acckkk *is shot* xD**

**That was so sappy, it hurt to right. I feel so so SOOOO sorry for all you angst/drama lovers.**

**Because that must have been painful to read.**

**For EVERYONE. XD **

**I actually considered deleting it ;_; **

**AND LOOK HOW SHORT IT IS! **

***dies***

***revives and peeks out from coffin xD***

**Review anyways? o.o**

**P.S. : I hate you dearly, "xD"...**

**DO YOU SEE HOW MUCH I USE IT!?? XDD**

**Date Completed: 4/3/10**

**Word Count: 5.083**


	8. LAWLZ ZOZY'S CHALLENGED xD

**-SIIIGGHH-**

**I knew it was gonna happen x.x **

**Why did I delete the announcement?**

***shoots self***

**If you can't review, it's because I deleted the announcement chapter, so technically most of you have already reviewed "chapter 7". **

**So, I'm now posting "chapter 8" lol! You can place your reviews here, our just send me a message, because I don't really care about my review count. I've already gotten way more than I ever thought I would. **

**(: Sorry about that. **

**Also...**

**Next chapter might come a little slow (I'd never abandon this, no worries). My dad's pretty sick and the doctor doesn't know whether he'll die or not, so mum will be sending me over to his house a lot . **

**Lots of love. **

**xx**

**Cheerio. **


	9. Party for the Blind

**Angael's back! x3 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year****.**** 3 And for those who are wondering, being a freshman in high school is AWESOME! So much better than middle school. **

After Ryou and Marik had come back up to their complex, Ryou had made a happy comment that he was so glad they all were happy in steady relationships now. In response to this, Bakura had choked on the cranberry juice he'd been sipping, and Malik had burst into a fit of gags, having been chewing on a muffin. They had both sent a glare that could freeze over all the oceans towards Marik, whom had coughed uncomfortably and sat Ryou down.

When they had explained to the kind-hearted albino that it had all been set up, at first the whitenette had refused to believe them, but upon hearing the entire story, had grown furious. Instead of blaming Marik like most people might however, the 'good' twin had sworn revenge on Bakura and Malik! Swearing that he would someday get back at them. The two had been flabbergasted, trying to explain that it was the Egyptian singer's idea the entire time, although Ryou would hear none of it. After that there was a knock on the door, where a man with a message from Kaiba had waited, because apparently...

It was time for Malik to go back home.

Malik blinked, eyes wide as he lunged happily at his sister, hugging her tightly, not caring if he appeared childish. No one was there to see, after all; he'd just been dropped off by a limo!

For a moment his sister seemed stunned, but a second later she kicked into action and wound Malik up in her arms excitedly, squealing and speaking nonsense as her brain tried to catch up with her enthusiasm.

"Malik! I, you're back! In a limo! I mean, th-that's not the surprising part, but- but, I mean, wah! I missed you so much, my little brother..." she finally settled on, eyes appreciative as she gently stroked the back of Malik's head with her tanned small hand, smile soft.

The teenager resisted rolling his eyes, instead looking up at her with a responding grin, a bit flushed from embarrassment, even if they were alone. "I missed you too, Ishizu."

After that, Ishizu had yelled for Rishid to come quick, and their adopted brother had done just that, unable to help but smile kindly at Malik. The youngest of the three siblings had been overjoyed to see them again, even if that had meant being snuggled by Ishizu for hours and being stuffed till he felt he might burst. Thankfully Rishid was more or less the type of person that would give him an approving nod and a small smile, although physical contact was slightly awkward for the older man.

The family of three had rather enjoyed their night that was made up of happy chatter, classic movies, great food and quite a bit of homework. All in all Malik got on with his family rather well, ever since he'd moved from Egypt. That was a different story for a different time, sadly.

After he had finished the homework that was assigned for over the break, Malik stretched, letting out a sigh. "I suppose I should be getting some rest now, considering I have school tomorrow." Such things might be considered odd for most teenager's to say, but he had always been like that; he took pride in the fact that he got good grades easily, and he wasn't one to stay up till 3am IMing friends (although, he had gone through that phase).

Ishizu blinked in surprise, appeared distraught. "Oh no! I forgot to tell you, I am so sorry. I thought you already knew! The area around your school has been surrounded with snow – ever since you've been out in the city it's been horribly cold and snowing like crazy, so you're principal decided to delay the beginning for another week." Malik blinked in surprise, feeling happiness spread through his body until he was smiling broadly, before Ishizu went on. "You'll just be making it up at the end of the year, does that sound alright? This way we can spend Christmas together instead of you being loaded up with homework!"

Malik nodded enthusiastically, a bit annoyed that Ishizu had failed to tell him, but to psyched about the news to care too much so that he would hold a grudge. Immediately he sprang up onto his feet, taking out the phone the Kaiba Corp. had provided. "I have to tell Ryou to tell him! Maybe we can hang out this week if he's not busy!" Ishizu rolled her eyes but let out a warm smile.

"You can invite your friend over for dinner if you want, Malik, or you can stay with him for a while." Ishizu had heard enough about Ryou to know she didn't need to be worried when it came to the kindhearted male.

Malik fidgeted uncomfortably; the latter of Ishizu's ideas would have been fine, and didn't bother him. The former however caused him a little bit of discomfort.

No matter how much he disliked it, Ryou was still six years older than him, meaning even if they both acted like boys going through puberty, it's not like they could enjoy the wonders of Fridays night sleepovers; Ryou was just a little too matured for that, even though Malik was sure the kind hearted albino would beg to differ. If he brought Ryou over for dinner, the difference in their ages would no doubt be obvious to Ryou if he came over, whether it was the fault of Ishizu or himself. If Marik came over? Malik wouldn't be able to even look at the singer thanks to the embarrassment. He didn't want things to be different between his friends on him just because of a silly age difference!

"Yeah... well, I'll tell you what we end up deciding." Malik gave a fake grin, to which his sister nodded with her own matching smile, and he proceeded to begin walking back to his room.

"Oh, one more thing Malik...

"Do you plan to do anything for your birthday?"

His what?

"Are you sure it's alright? You're just going to spend the day with your friends?" Ishizu asked, nibbling on her lip in a silent dispute. Malik felt his eye twitch, annoyed with his sister for asking him that YET AGAIN, it being the umpteenth time that day.

"Yes, sister, there isn't anything else I would rather do. _Alright_?" he couldn't help but bite out the last word a little bit harsher than he'd meant too, although his pride kept him from apologizing. His sister let out a sigh, nodding her head.

"Alright... but if you need me, just call the museum's number, oh you have my cell phone in your contacts, right? Maybe you should check, just in-" Malik thanked Ra when their doorbell rang, and all but ran their, grinning broadly as he checked the eye-perch, and saw it was indeed Ryou like had had expected. Enthusiastically he opened the door, and per usual the two of them hugged like it had been years. Ishizu rounded the corner, raising an eyebrow at the obvious show of affection.

The two of them laughed and giggled their hello's, before Ryou seemed to realize they weren't alone, upon glancing back and spotting his sister. "Oh, hello!" the albino said with a small smile, and the woman nodded her head in greeting. "You must be Malik's sister, it's lovely to meet you, and he speaks quite highly about you." Ryou grinned as Malik shuffled his feet in embarrassment, and Ishizu all but cooed at Ryou's polite manners.

"Oh! Thank you, and you are undoubtedly Ryou; correct? Malik speaks of you as well." By this time, Malik was all but red down to his cute little Egyptian toes, glaring futilely as they both laughed at his demise. "Would you like to come in?"

Before Ryou could say anything that would possibly ruin their day, the teenage Egyptian quickly grabbed the Brits hand and started pulling him out the door. "I'm sure he'd love to, sister! But Ryou and I have places to be – people to see!" with that Malik was all but dragging his friend to the door, hearing his sister yell her goodbyes to which he humorously ignored. He quickly opened the door to the light blue Honda Civic that Ryou apparently owned, sliding in to its back seat plastic upholstery. Ryou got into shotgun, and Marik smirked back at him from the driver's spot, the smirk promising more to the day than usual... it made Malik nervous.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably and Marik's large smirk grew evermore, although he didn't respond, simply turning away. Malik grew irritated now, curiosity sparked. "What?" he growled out again, wondering if Bakura was having a bad influence on him subconsciously?

The Egyptian adult pretended to inspect his perfect set of nails, trying to appear innocent. "Oh, nothing, nothing, little boy. Or should I say... _Big_ boy, now!" Malik's eyes widened, a little bit surprised, actually, _really _surprised.

"Wh-what? How'd you know?" Malik fumed, looking accusingly at Ryou before realizing he hadn't even told the whitenette, and then just settling on a look of befuddlement.

Marik shrugged. "Baku told me." Malik opened his mouth to ask how in the world his nemesis had found out, but Marik went on before he could get anything out, "he said something about Kaiba forcing him to memorize all these facts about you, so he knew some weird stuff."

The teenage Egyptian was not pleased, but finally grumpily crossed his arms. "I don't like birthdays." He stated harshly, glancing down guiltily. "Sorry I didn't tell you two, but can we not celebrate or anything like that? I kinda just want to hang out." Malik scratched the back of his head hopefully, grinning his winning smile.

Marik rolled his eyes. "Nope. You see, little Malik-chan, it's my birthday too!" Malik's eyes widened in surprise, "Which means, as your present to me, you have to enjoy today as much as possible and not complain!"

Malik mulled over this – actually deciding to give it some thought, although it was obvious from his expression that he was rather unhappy with this predicament. "Why can't we just celebrate your birthday instead? I'd much rather just buy you a present..." he stated with a pout, and the older Egyptian rolled his eyes.

"Because, I'm turning 26, whereas I'd much rather be your age. It's really nothing to be proud of and I would like to not be reminded of it..." Mariku paused, a playful smirk adorning his features as his eyes lavished over Ryou, "I already got what I wanted in terms of presents~." He stated huskily, and somehow, Malik couldn't help but burst into laughter at the way Ryou's face lit up like a tomato. He recalled the time at Mai's Masquerade Party when he'd been absolutely stunned to learn about Bakura and Ryou's sexuality, and quite embarrassed. Now, the most surprising thing in the world would probably be if one of his three friends went out of their way to complement a woman – that would truly be when pigs flew (and a lot of shit was going to go down when pigs actually learned to fly, if he did say so himself).

"If you're sure... I just hope you guys didn't get me presents or anything like that." Malik said while finishing his laughter. But from the look that Mariku and Ryou shared, he had the feeling they had, to which he could do nothing but sigh ruefully, beginning to wonder if it would have been wiser for him to have just stayed home that day.

Mariku started the car up, and for once they drove for a few minutes without any conversation existing between the three of them (where was Bakura anyway? Did the authoress randomly forget him? Surely not!), instead a pleasant silence that only remained not awkward among the best of friends. He furrowed his eyebrows when they took a turn he didn't recognize – where exactly were they going? Before he could question the couple about their destination however, Ryou spoke up. "Ehem... Malik, there is one more thing." Ryou began carefully, and Malik blinked in curiosity, nodding his head for Ryou to go on suspiciously."You wouldn't mind if we... that is to say, you wouldn't be offended or put off if I decided to put a blind fold on you?" Malik stared, waiting for Ryou's lips to twitch, as if he were holding off a smile. When no sign of it came, and instead just one of Ryou's usual meek and polite smiles, Malik looked for other signs of Ryou joking. When seeing none, he let out a baffled laugh, not believing Ryou was serious.

"A blind fold? What the bloody hell for!" he asked with furrowed eyebrows, a bit bemused. His friend simply gave him an apologetic face.

"Please Malik... would you? For Mariku and I?" at the moment, Malik was cursing Ryou's bloody huge eyes, that managed to implant guilt in any person, anywhere (they should test it out on Kaiba sometime), therefore obviously causing any wariness he'd held upright to disappear with a sigh. Grouchily he turned around- well as much as he could in the car- muttering a 'make it quick, you bloody Brit' much to his fellow passengers entertainment.

Following soon after Ryou had tied a pitch black sash around his eyes, and much to his disappointment it was rather large so no light was visible whether he looked up or down, and the stitching was tight enough therefore he could see not the slightest bit of light. "How am I gonna walk like this?" he mumbled to himself, scratching the back of his head as he squinted futilely at the blackness which had overwhelmed his vision.

Ryou laughed shortly at his demise, "don't worry, I won't run you into a wall!"

Mariku's quiet (but heard!) "I will!" did not comfort him very much.

The stairs had _not_ been a fun mountain to climb. And Mariku's inconveniently placed foot had definitely _not! _been funny, no matter how hard Mariku and Ryou had laughed (and yes, he'd probably let out a chuckle or too as well). That being beside the point, his newly found birthday bruise and limp were not appreciated, something he'd made sure the newly found couple was well aware of. As they got to the top of who knows where, he heard Mariku start slamming on some... metal door? Iron, from the sounds of it. But what did he know about doors? Maybe it was plastic? This was all a little bit beside the point, because his first question should probably be why he was in front of an iron door in the first place. Oh well. He had learned that when it came to his friends, he should probably just not begin to wonder.

He heard nothing, but because he was once again pushed forward softly, he assumed that someone had very quietly managed to open the door. He felt a smidgen of respect for whoever had oiled its hinges, and he began to wonder if he was losing it. As he felt someone (Mariku, probably, considering it was none too gently) begin tugging at the knot at the back of his head, the black cloth that had been impending his view to the outside world was removed, and he was met with all religious fanatics most horrid nightmare:

Nothing.

Before he could begin to panic and question the existence of heaven and the lacking continuation to his vision, even after his blindfold was removed, the lights were snapped on and the world as he knew it was revealed, leaving an imprinting vision of all his loved ones, and some sexy body builders there just for show (surely Mariku's suggestion, Malik knew) screaming a happy, yet still almost as scary, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISHTAR!"

He didn't join in on the laughter that ensued as a result because of his face that plain out spelled 'what the muck?' in pure English (or Japanese, whatever floats your boat, really) across his face. After the initial surprise kicked in however, he couldn't help but let out his biggest (and goofiest) smile. Sure, he was going to go, find the person that organized this party, and punch them across the face later, but for now he could enjoy himself. Unless that person was Kaiba or Ryou. For obvious reasons. Ryou was too cute to punch. Kaiba was... well, enough said.

And enjoy himself he planned to do! He had to say, whatever idiot that had put together this party had done a heck of a good job. It was in a nice place too – it wasn't huge, and upon glancing back he could see it was indeed and iron door that Mariku had knocked on. It was the size of an apartment – a large one, and it seemed to be a loft, if Malik's guess was serving him correctly. And the decorations weren't over the top – there was a few balloons in the corners of the room, a huge banner hanging across the ceiling that read "happy birthday, kid!" in sloppy paint hand-writing, with a smiley face next to it. There were some presents on a table over to the side, along with a huge chocolate cake that Malik's mouth watered over.

A wide assortment of people were there – Mai, Akefia, Atemu... was that-? Yes, even Seto was here! He smiled upon spotting Keith as well, and (of course) there were his two best friends whom had undoubtedly organized the party, Ryou and Mariku. Oh and look, Bakura was there too. He sniggered at the white haired man, who had a scowl on his face as Akefia laughed and attempted to keep Bakura from taking off the recently placed birthday hat from his furry white mane. Malik waltzed over to them, sitting in the chair next to the one which Bakura sat. Atemu, upon spotting him, elegantly walked over and proceeded to drop himself upon Malik's lap.

"Happy birthday Malik," he said, batting his eyelashes. "Would you like sixteen kisses to commemorate it?"

Akefia shoved Atemu off of the birthday boys lap, making a face. "Oh please! If he was to receive kisses from anyone, it would be me." He winked, "Isn't that right, Malik?"

Bakura growled at the both of them "Can't you two leave him alone on his birthday? He shouldn't have to babysit the both of you."

Atemu and Akefia shared a mischievous glance and sighed sadly in unison.

"Well thief, I guess there are some things even you can't steal."

"Yeah, I mean my cousin's hatred burns so bright for this here birthday boy; just seeing one of us kiss him would mean he wouldn't ever look at us again." Akefia said ruefully.

Atemu seemed to ponder that for a moment, before continuing, "You know what's odd though, love?" The tri-colored haired Egyptian didn't wait for an answer. "It's almost as though he didn't want us kissing poor little Malik because _he_ wanted the honors himself!"

Akefia gasped. "You think so? I think you might just be on to something! Should we tell Malik?"

Atemu considered this. "Naw... It might scare him too much, sweetie. We should keep it as our little secret.

Twitch.

Twitch.

"We're sitting right here you know."

Akefia and Atemu winked simultaneously before both chorusing "Cake time! Cake time!" and running off.

Malik let out a smile anyhow, and then stared at Bakura expectantly.

The little color in Bakura's cheeks already began to drain. "I'm not actually giving you birthday kisses, damn it!" A sentence that caused a look of horror to dawn on Malik's face.

"I was waiting for a happy birthday, but if that's really what's on your mind..." they both let out matching smirks.

"Yeah yeah. Happy-one-year-closer-to-when-you're-going-to-die, shortstuff." Bakura snorted, and Malik let out a grin and thanked him kindly by shooting him with silly string. Of course, Fluffy would have none of that, so he proceeded to run around the room until he found his own can of silly string. An all out silly string war arose between the two, and anyone caught in the cross-fire was quick to also locate more and more cans of silly string. This went on until Keith aimed for Ryou in the hair, but was pushed harshly by Mariku therefore sending the offending blast of string straight down Mai's shirt to dwell with whatever other monsters lived down there with her cleavage. Mai let out a shriek and ducked to the ground to try and fetch it out which caused the blast of silly string (shot by Malik himself) that had been going towards the back of her head to narrowly miss Bakura and hit Kaiba straight in the forehead.

The following silence that resulted was most likely heard in China, where they wondered if another president had died in the United States (or Japan. Whatever floats your other boat).

Everyone watched fearfully as first Kaiba's left eye twitched, and then his right. And many thought the apocalypse was soon to occur and Seto would explode within seconds.

And then he took a deep breath...

"I think it's about time we opened presents, don't you all?"

No one argued.

First came Mai's, whom had given him an absolutely fetch pair of sparkling purple high heels, those she had claimed could be one if he ever felt curious. Then Keith's, whom had kindly given him a gift card to the store where they had first met, a thought Malik couldn't help but think was sweet and had smiled largely at the American-flag wearing man. Soon afterwards, a beautiful iPhone 4 was gushed over, courtesy of Kaiba whom claimed no employee of his would be found without a phone. Seto stated that he had wanted to buy him a car; however he hadn't wanted to mess up Malik's face, to everyone apart from Malik's amusement. Following Kaiba's, a bag of condoms was dumped onto Malik's lap, with a snickering Akefia and Atemu in its wake, and a card that read "Don't want you getting pregnant, after all!" He had snorted and thrown a few at them, to which they had politely stated they would be right back and ran off to the bedroom, to which everyone had looked disturbed. Mariku's present was an iPhone 4 with a horrible wrapping job.

"I got a little... distracted, in the making, if you know what I mean." Marik wriggled his eyebrows, eying Ryou.

"The fact that you're bad at wrapping presents has nothing to do with me!" Ryou stated haughtily, and Malik burst into laughter.

Speaking of Ryou, the whitenette had very sweetly thought to get him two tickets for anytime in the next year to the fair they had gone to the other day, a smoking choker gold necklace (Ryou knew him so well!), an adorable picture of Marik, Bakura, Ryou and Malik surrounded by a purple frame, and an iTune's gift card for his new phone.

The Egyptian teen had stared for a while, before sniffling (he steeled himself into not tearing up) and resisting the urge to hug the sweet whitenette. Not knowing what to say, he stupidly remained silent, before saying the cliché'd "You shouldn't have..." but however cliché it may have been, it was accompanied by a much more gorgeous smile than anyone else could have pulled off, surely.

Ryou snorted, an unusual sound to come from him that was for sure. "What sort of best friend would I be if I didn't get you at least four presents?" Malik rolled his eyes then turned expectantly to a very awkward looking Bakura.

Silence ensued.

"You see, the thing is..."

"You forgot to get me a present, didn't you?" Malik asked bluntly, and glares from every corner of the table targeted the British model.

Bakura panicked. "No! No, I didn't forget! The present is just... Well, you know, private." Malik raised a lone eyebrow, apparently not impressed, although he didn't miss Marik's suggestive growl. "Plus with the party I didn't know the brat would be so picky. It's going to take me hours to clean this all up!" Bakura told the rest of the table grouchily, while Malik watched in surprise. He hadn't known his fake-boyfriend had been the one to put together the party; however a pleasant (but ignored) warmth filled his chest upon learning this.

"Don't worry, Bakuuuu! Marik, Malik and I shall help you clean up!" Ryou said helpfully, drawing out the 'oooo' syllable of the Brit's nick-name, although the aforementioned Egyptian's didn't look thrilled at the idea. After that, the cake was cut, a loud and tone-deaf version of happy birthday was sung, and the shirtless body-teasers told Marik regretfully that they had to go unless they were paid for more hours. Akefia and Atemu also shared regret in saying that if the sexy body statues had to leave, as did they. Next was Kaiba, followed shortly by Mai and Keith, until finally the four friends were all whom were left.

And then, after everyone had left, Ryou turned on them, eyes glinting evilly, handing them all hair-ties.

"First, you tie your hair up."

They all stared at the ties placed in their palms as if they were aliens, clearly not getting what Ryou was getting at.

"What was that love?"

Ryou looked at Marik, eyes dead-pan. "I said first, you tie your hair up. Cleaning 101!"

Bakura began to laugh, smirk growing. "No way in hell am I-"

"I _said_, first you tie your hair up!" They all quickly did as they were told, no longer questioning Ryou's instruction, with a slight frown on Bakura's part, of course. Marik's hair refused to be tamed however, and it took approximately two hair ties and a good amount of gel to tame the wild thing. When done, he appeared more like a five year old boy that had decided to get into daddy's cupboard than a man who wanted to clean, but Ryou was happy, so Marik just laughed it off. Bakura had poked fun at him for what seemed like _hours_, while Malik had just eyed them both wearily. They were all assigned jobs after that. Ryou had purposefully kept Malik's simple considering it was his birthday, asking politely if he could please sort his presents. And who was Malik to complain? Bakura was ordered to pick up all the silly string from the walls and ground (and ceiling), while Marik was instructed to find all the paper (like wrapping paper) and put it into a recycling bag.

Ryou tackled everything else, and how he managed to finish first still baffled them today!

Malik let out a yawn just as they were finishing, and Marik gave him a sympathetic look. "We'll take you home now, kiddo. I forget that you're just a baby sometimes." He said while make gushy noises and pinching his cheeks. Bakura laughed at his demise while Ryou waited by the door, giggling. "Come on Marik! We need to leave so Bakura can give Malik his present!" Marik seemed to just remember this himself, and excitedly jumped over to Ryou's side, with Malik's presents in a back hung gracefully over his shoulder.

"Alright you two, don't take too longer! W-wait should I get out Akefia and Atemu's present?" Marik asked Ryou, who rolled his eyes but nonetheless whispered a 'maybe just in case?' to his boyfriend. Malik through one of Bakura's shoes at the two of the laughing men as they exited. When the door (the iron door!) to the loft closed, an awkward silence followed.

This enclosed a distracted Bakura playing with a sexy picture of a hot naked man on his wall and a fidgeting Malik. When Bakura began to walk towards him and stood there with his hands in his pockets, Malik burst into chuckles.

"You forgot to buy me a present didn't you?"

"Uhh..." Bakura replied smartly, to which Malik smirked and turned around, right at the same moment the whitenette had seemingly leaned in. The birthday boy let out a noise of surprise as a forehead bonked the back of his head, and turned around to stare at Bakura with wide eyes. The man was staring at him with just as huge of mahogany eyes, before letting out an embarrassed "Ryou, um, missed a piece of trash!" Bakura said quickly, holding up a slice of wrapping paper, looking away with a scowl. Malik laughed at him, before pulling his hair.

"Whatever you say, fur ball! Just don't forget next year!" And with that, Malik was out the door, having no idea what had just happened at what inner turmoil and swearing the said fur ball was going through on the other side of the iron door.

_Tonight we lay under the midnight sky.__  
__Just as a shooting star catches my eye.__  
__I'm making wishes that I want come true.__  
__My favorite one is being here with you.___

_The grass we lay turns silver by the moon.__  
__Warm summer winds blowing in early June.__  
__Looking into his eyes I see them shine.__  
__My heart left thinking soon he will be mine.___

_Crickets are chirping in the fields nearby.__  
__Out from the grass a single firefly.__  
__A heart is formed from the light left behind.__  
__When visions of the future flood my mind.___

_Hand in hand he has his head on my chest.__  
__In the comfort of my arms he will rest.__  
__I can hear and feel every breath he takes.__  
__The night is young and no more sounds it makes.___

_The scent of his perfume tingles my nose.__  
__Beautiful smell like a freshly cut rose.__  
__His skin is soft as my lips kiss his cheek.__  
__When he kissed me back my body felt weak.___

_As we kiss and giggle under the night.__  
__I knew that everything would be alright.__  
__The hair on my arms and neck stand on end.__  
__For I know I have found my one true friend._

By Darien

**So this was kind of a special for everyone. **

**Alright guys, here comes the excuse****.**** So my beta was my best friend in the entire world****.**** Entire****.**** World****.**** But like****...**** She decided she didn't want to read my stories or beta anymore and she really started being mean and talking about me behind my back according to my other friends and I just lost all my inspiration to write because she was my inspiration****.**** But that's no excuse and I know the smile that lights my face up when I see someone updates a story I love, so I guess I'm hoping I can bring you guys a little joy****.**

**LONG STORY SHORT I NEED A NEW BETA****.**

**Did anyone else know you could check how many hits a story had? I DIDN'T!**

**5,000****.**** ALMOST 5,000****.**** *faints* So I'm sure at least 2,000, most likely 3,000 of those clicks are from the same people****.**** But to think that 1,000-3,000 people have actually clicked on this story****...**** I can safely die happily****.**** (: 3 **

**Merry Christmas!**

**READREADREADREADREADREAD****.**

**It's Christmas****.**

**My gift to you guys was this chapter****.**

**Will you write me a review as your gift? The next chapter should be out soon. **

**Date Completed: 12/1/11**

**Word Count: 5,249 :( Next one will be longer! I promise!**


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